Travel Indonesia Haiku - Batam Poem by john tiong chunghoo

on the street still
the malay heroes
hang tuah, hang jebat...

Batam as well as Bintan in the Rhiau Archipelago, a chain of 3,000 islands were part of the Malacca as well as the Johore Empire before they fell into the hands of the colonialists in the last few centuries. The Rhiau now is part of Indonesia. A Malaysian travelling here will feel at home as the names of the roads and places here are after Malay heroes of the Malaccca empire such as Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Nadim