Tatau District
| Tatau | ||
|---|---|---|
| Districts of Sarawak | ||
|
||
 |
||
| District Office location | Bintulu | |
| Local area government (s) | Lembaga Kemajuan Bintulu (BDA) | |
| Government | ||
| • District Officer | Nyurak Keti | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 4,945.80 km2 (1,909.58 sq mi) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 30,322 | |
| • Density | 6.1/km2 (16/sq mi) | |
| Ethnicity | ||
| • Iban | 63.0% | |
| • Chinese | 5.2% | |
| • Melanau | 9.7% | |
| • Others | 22.1% | |
Tatau District is one of the two districts of Bintulu Division. It has a total area of 4,945.80 square kilometres. The major town is Tatau.
The population of Tatau district (year 2010 National Census) was 30,322.
Tatau is traditionally a home to Iban, Melanau, Chinese, Malay and Orang Ulu people. There is one ethnic named "Tatau" which is unique to Tatau district.
Most Ibans are scattered throughout rural areas of Tatau. Whilst, Melanau people (or Melanau Bintulu/Vaie people) and Malay people are concentrated at Tatau and Kuala Tatau. Many Malay people are not originally from Tatau, however, intermarriage with locals especially Melanau people has made Malay as one of the major ethnics in Tatau. Chinese people are more concentrated at Tatau, while some resides at Sangan and Kuala Tatau. Orang Ulu people, such as Kenyah, Kayan, Tatau, Penan and Punan are more scattered throughout Tatau district compared to Iban people. Most of them still live deep in the rural areas like Ng. Tau, Kuala Baggiau and Sungai Anap.
There is a large influx of foreign worker population due to the timber industry. It was estimated more than 10% of Tatau population are foreign workers mostly from Indonesia.
The economy is largely based on the timber and agricultural industries. Timber industry remains a strong component of the district's economy. Agriculture is relatively minor although growing steadily, with oil palm, rattan and pepper the main products.
Although Tatau is well connected to other parts of Sarawak with good networks of road, river transports still play the vital role in Bintulu. People of Tatau District can opt for regular shuttle bus service to Bintulu town, where then connected to other parts of Bintulu Division. The only shuttle bus operating for both town and rural services is Jepak Holding.
As for people who wish to travel to upriver areas which are inaccessible by road such as Kuala Serupai, Kuala Baggiau and Sungai Anap, they have to use available ferry and boat services. River transport charges remain high in Tatau District due to the long distance of the upriver areas.
There are some rural areas which are accessible by timber tracks and palm estate roads such as Kakus. Availability of transports to these areas are limited through bookings at Bintulu town or rarely at Tatau town, using private vans or four-wheel drive vehicles.
...
Wikipedia