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Brief Geographical facts: The Islands of Sumatra is the sixth largest island in the world (approx. 470,000 s/kms.) and is the largest in Indonesia. It is 1783 kms. long and 375 kms. wide. Equator divides Sumatra into two almost equal parts. Ten of the thirty two provinces of Indonesia are in Sumatra. Sumatra is rich in flora and fauna e.g. Rafflesia Arnoldi (largest flower), Orang utan and Sumatra Tiger.
Brief History: Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit names of Swarnadwīpa (Island of Gold) and Swarnabhūmi (Land of Gold), due to the gold deposits of island's highlands. Arab geographers referred to the island as Lamri (Lamuri, Lambri or Ramni) in the 10-13th centuries, in reference to a kingdom near modern day Banda Aceh which was the first landfall for traders. Late in the 14th century, the name Sumatra became popular, in reference to the kingdom of Samudra which was a rising power. European writers in the 19th century found that the indigenous inhabitants did not have a name for the island. People who spoke Austronesian languages first arrived in Sumatra around 500 BC, as part of the Austronesian expansion from Taiwan to Southeast Asia. With its location in the India-China sea trade route, several trading towns flourished, especially in the eastern coast, and were influenced by Indian religions. One of the earliest known kingdoms was Kantoli, which flourished in the 5th century AD in southern Sumatra. Kantoli was replaced by the Empire of Srivijaya and then later by the Kingdom of Samudra. Srivijaya was a Buddhist monarchy centered in what is now Palembang. Dominating the region through trade and conquest throughout the 7th to 9th centuries, the Empire helped spread the Malay culture throughout Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and western Borneo. The empire was a maritime power that extended its influence from island to island. Palembang was a center for scholarly learning, and it was there the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim I Ching studied Sanskrit in 671 CE before departing for India. On his journey to China he spent four years in Palembang translating Buddhist texts and writing two manuscripts. Srivijayan influence waned in the 11th century after it was defeated by the Chola Empire of southern India. Sumatra was then subject to conquests from Javanese kingdoms, first Singhasari and subsequently Majapahit. At the same time Islam made its way to Sumatra, spreading through contacts with Arabs and Indian traders. By the late 13th century, the monarch of the Samudra kingdom had converted to Islam. Marco Polo visited the island in 1292 and Ibn Battuta visited twice during 1345-1346. Samudra was succeeded by the powerful Aceh Sultanate, which survived to the 20th century. With the coming of the Dutch, the many Sumatran princely states gradually fell under their control. Aceh, in the north, was the major obstacle, as the Dutch were involved in the long and costly Aceh War (1870-1905). On December 26, 2004, the western coast and islands of Sumatra, particularly Aceh province, were devastated by a nearly 15 meter high tsunami following the 9.2-magnitude Indian Ocean earthquake. The death toll surpassed 170,000 in Indonesia alone, primarily in Aceh. Sunda arc, the Great Sumatran Fault, a transform fault, runs the entire length of the island. The pressure on this fault increased dramatically after the December 2004 earthquake, and seismologists are afraid an earthquake is going to occur soon. The fault ends directly below the devastated city of Banda Aceh.
Trade & Commerce Sumatra plays an important part in the economy of Indonesia. Economy of Sumatra is dominated by petroleum, gas and plantations. The provinces of Aceh and Riau have vast reserves of petroleum and gas. Province of North Sumatra, Riau, Aceh, South Sumatra and West Sumatra have extensive plantation areas producing palm oil, rubber, cocoa, tobacco, acacia and tea. Approximately 87% of the total production of over 10 million tons of palm oil is produced in Sumatra. It may be mentioned that India and China are the largest buyers of palm oil from Indonesia. Every year, more than 3 million tons of palm oil is exported to India from Sumatra. India is currently the largest export destination for this area. Riau Adnan Paper & Pulp industry, the largest in the world, in situated in Sumatra (Kerinci, near Pekanbaru). It daily produces 7000 ton paper grade pulp. The April Group also has a plant in Porsea, called Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL), which is about 220 kms. from Medan. The plant produces about 500 ton of rayon grade pulp daily. RAPP and TPL exports 20,000 and 2,500 ton of pulp respectively every year to India.
North Sumatra and Medan North Sumatra is a large province having a population of approximately 8 million stretching from the Indian Ocean in the west to the straits of Malacca in the east, and from Aceh in the north to West Sumatra in the south. It is thick with forests, lush vegetation, jungle covered hills, terraced rice fields, cool mountain streams, rivers, waterfalls, white sandy beaches and a large volcanic lake. The people of this region are hospitable and warm and can be divided into five main ethnic groups: Malays, Bataks, Minangkabau, Gayo and Niasans. Medan is the largest city in Sumatra and the third largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya. Medan, the provincial capital of North Sumatra, is the Western gateway to Indonesia facing the Malay Peninsula across the Malacca Straits. It is a city of approx. three million inhabitants consisting of Malays, Bataks, Karonese, Chinese, Indians and others. The history of modern Medan is traced back to 1590 when Guru Patimpus established a small village. The boom in plantation economy in the later half of 19th century made Medan the premier city in Sumatra. In 1886, Medan became the capital of North Sumatra. The plantation economy which started with extensive tobacco cultivation later gave way to oil, palm, rubber and cocoa. The present province of North Sumatra consists of the former Sultanates of Deli, Langkat, Serdang and Asahan. The Maimoon Palace built in 1888 by the Deli Sultan and the adjoining Grand Mosque are the most important historical monuments in Medan. It may be mentioned that Deli Sultans are descendents of Mohammad Dalek Sri Paduka Gocah Pahlawan, an Indian nobleman who was appointed governor and first ruler of Deli by the Sultan of Aceh around 1630. Some of the buildings built during the Dutch period retains the colonial flavour. With the introduction of provincial autonomy, there is very good scope for taking advantage of the proximity of port of Belawan to India and develop direct trade to this market of 40 million people. Even now large quantity of rice, salt, sugar, wheat, beef, automobile, machine parts, etc from India are entering Sumatra through Belawan and various other smaller ports. There are allegations of smuggling of these items from Malaysia. Taking into account, the level of economy, there is good scope for bilateral corporation in various fields, especially developing SMEs for diverse products like pharmaceuticals, rubber based industries, timber and timber products, gambier, etc. There is also potential for collaboration in the development of railway network, hydro-electrical projects and industries using hydro-carbon as feed-stock.
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