History of the people

The early settlers of Redang Island were believed to have descended from the Bugis of Celebes, Indonesia.  It was said that there were seven Bugis siblings traveled from Celebes to look for new settlement. One of the members, Batin Talib has finally decided to make Redang Island his new home. He established the first village faced towards the lagoon at Telok Kalong Besar on the east of the island. To shelter from the strong monsoon wind, he moved to a smaller island on the south which he named Pinang Island due to the betel nut palms (pinang) here. Another member, Batin Mina was said to have settled down in Perhentian Island and his sister Batin Cik Siti headed to Hulu Terengganu. The where abouts of the rest Batins was however unknown.

Population of Redang Island

Today, Redang Island is a home for a community of nearly 250 fisherman families who are believed to be the descendents of the Bugis. They build their homeland in a new village at the left bank of Sungai Redang estuary, approximately 3 kilometers inland from the previous one. It has been characterized by rapid economic growth and improvement in most social indicators in recent years, mainly contributed by tourism and fishing industry.