Sampit

Sampit

Sampit is a large town in the East Kotawaringin Regency of Central Kalimantan Province in Indonesia. It is near the Sampit River and was once a place where timber was loaded onto ships. Over time, Sampit grew into a community of about 166,773 people, according to Statistics Indonesia in 2019.

Today, Sampit is more than just a timber town. Its economy has changed, and it is now a medium-sized town with homes, schools, and shops. Even with many people and buildings, it is not considered an autonomous city.

The town covers a large area of 651.32 square kilometres. By mid-2024, about 171,624 people lived there. It includes eleven urban villages and two rural villages spread across several districts.

Etymology

The town of Sampit has a name with many ideas about where it comes from. Some believe the name comes from a Chinese word. Long ago, 31 Chinese workers lived there, and their word for the number 31 was “sam-it.” Another idea is that an explorer named Daniel Beekman wrote about a tool called a sumpit used by people living inside Borneo, and that name changed over time to become Sampit.

History

Early history

The area around Sampit was once thought to belong to an old tribal kingdom led by the Ot Danum people from the 1300s to the 1400s, although this is not certain. Later, it became part of the Sultanate of Banjar in the early 1500s. In 1826, the ruler of Banjar gave the region to the Dutch.

Modern history

See also: Kalimantan Physical Revolution and Sampit conflict

During World War II, Sampit was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Navy along with Banjarmasin. Indonesian leaders announced their country's independence in Sampit through radio and a Japanese newspaper called Borneo Shimbun between September and October 1945. Unlike many other cities in Kalimantan, which were freed by Australian forces, Sampit stayed under Japanese control until 1946. Fighting between Indonesian leaders and Dutch soldiers who arrived continued until 1949.

In February 2001, serious fights broke out between local Dayaks and people from Madura. These fights lasted for ten days and caused a lot of trouble. Some believe it started when a fire damaged a Dayak house, and others think it began after a Dayak man was hurt by three people from Madura earlier in 2000. The government did not do much to stop the fighting, and some leaders used the situation to try to gain more power.

Climate

Sampit has a tropical rainforest climate with rain all year.

Infrastructure

Sampit has many roads for cars and trucks, but some need fixing. The river is important for travel, and there is a port mainly for passengers. There are ride services like Gojek and Grab, plus other local ways to get around.

The town has a main hospital that was made bigger recently. There is one university and a few other schools. You can find convenience stores like Indomaret and shopping malls such as Borneo City Mall and Mentaya Shopping Center.