Pemuda – settlement in Tanah Laut Regency, South Kalimantan
Pemuda is a settlement located in Pelaihari District of Tanah Laut Regency in South Kalimantan (Kalimantan Selatan) province, on the Indonesian part of Borneo. The settlement is situated in the southern coastal belt of the Indonesian Kalimantan region, which has traditionally been the spiritual and cultural center of the Banjarese people. According to 2020 census data, South Kalimantan has more than 4 million inhabitants and is the second most populous province on the island of Kalimantan. The settlement preserves the place name Pemuda, which in the Indonesian language carries the concept of "youth" or "youngness."
General overview
Pemuda is a smaller settlement in South Kalimantan within the administrative area of Pelaihari Kecamatan (district), which belongs to Tanah Laut Regency (kabupaten). Pelaihari District forms the northernmost part of South Kalimantan and is a significant economic center among all kecamatan. Although information about Pemuda at the settlement level is limited, a characteristic feature of Tanah Laut Regency is that it develops its maritime and agricultural resources based on fishing, coal mining, and oil palm and coconut cultivation. The area has undergone significant demographic transformation over recent decades stemming from the Indonesian transmigration program, through which Javanese and other ethnic groups settled alongside the traditionally Banjarese population. Pemuda and its surroundings have maintained the regency's rural, small-community character, contrasting with heavily urbanized coastal cities.
The general economic profile of Pelaihari District is characterized by food production, particularly rice cultivation, and salt manufacturing. The area of Tanah Laut Regency is nearly 3,100 square kilometers, and according to census data, its population is approximately 300,000. The region provides basic public services at a relatively developing infrastructure level, although the supply and transportation challenges typical of rural areas do not bypass this region either.
Real estate and investment
Pemuda's real estate market, like that of other rural settlements in Tanah Laut Regency, operates with moderate turnover and relatively low price categories. Real estate values in the regency differ considerably from property prices in Borneo's major cities, particularly Banjarmasin and Banjarbaru. The lower level of demand dynamics and the structure based on agricultural and fishing economy result in properties – both residential and notable commercial or industrial real estate – trading at price levels corresponding to those segments of the countryside that are built primarily on local demand and basic job creation.
Regarding investment considerations, one of the main pillars of resources in Tanah Laut Regency is fishing and food processing, which supports potential production chains in areas near Pemuda. Under Indonesian law, foreign investors cannot hold direct land ownership rights; however, through long-term lease agreements (hak guna usaha and hak pakai) they may enjoy rights close to ownership. The real estate market is therefore rural in character, and its demand composition consists primarily of local economic actors and workers employed in the region. Through infrastructure development projects in the region – road construction, electricity supply – South Kalimantan province has gradually increased rural investment opportunities over the past two decades, however at the level of Pemuda, real estate market transactions continue to take place at the scale of local communities.
Safety and security
South Kalimantan generally belongs among the moderately safe provinces of the Borneo region. According to Indonesian crime statistics, the province – and within it Tanah Laut Regency – is not considered a high-risk zone; however, like the entire region, it faces occasional roadblock-type attacks on rural and intermediate transportation routes, as well as tensions surrounding illegal coal transportation. On coastal and delta areas, disputes over maritime fishing rights occasionally lead to disturbances, but this is not a particularly notable factor directly concerning Pemuda municipality.
Regarding the general public safety of rural settlements, Pemuda corresponds to the average municipal level of South Kalimantan, where traditional community norms and the responsibility of local leaders (kepala desa – village heads) play a central role in maintaining basic security. After the inter-ethnic conflicts of the 1990s and 2000s, South Kalimantan province has relatively stabilized, and civil administrative institutions have strengthened. At the level of Pemuda, the absence of tourist or major economic targets means that the area is not subject to organized crime or drug trafficking in the way that heavily urbanized coastal regions are. Rural life, however, is not free from occasional robberies or common rural forms of crime, which are generally characteristic of Indonesian rural regions.
Tourist attractions
Pemuda at the municipal level does not possess international or national-level tourist attractions that source materials would document. However, Tanah Laut Regency and the broader region surrounding it within Pelaihari District contain numerous potential tourist points of interest. The coastal location of Tanah Laut Regency, its proximity to the Makassar Strait, and its local artisanal fishing traditions mean that for the region, rural tourism development – such as village tourism or ecotourism – represent potential directions.
The nearest major city is Banjarbaru, which since 2022 has been the new capital of South Kalimantan province and is the center of administrative and economic development in the region. The former capital, Banjarmasin, preserves the long cultural heritage of the Banjarese people, with numerous traditional sultanate buildings, mosques, and cultural institutions; however, it is several tens of kilometers away from Pemuda. Pelaihari District is situated directly in the rural and delta zones, where local communities represent the region's distinctive spiritual and cultural character through traditional fishing communities built in coal boats (rumah lanting) and smaller tourist interests tied to landscape and ecosystems. For Pemuda municipality, a potential point of interest is proximity to Kalimantan's interior fluvial ecology, which harbors numerous ornithological and ecological tourism opportunities, although formal tourism infrastructure or organized offerings for these still remain limited.
Summary
Pemuda as a rural settlement of South Kalimantan reflects the agricultural and fishing economy of Tanah Laut Regency and Pelaihari District. Its residents are characterized by low price categories in the real estate market and local community economy. Public safety is based on rural norms and relatively stable. Regarding its independent tourist attractions, Pemuda municipality lacks international recognition at the municipal level; however, the broader regional and cultural context of South Kalimantan province offers numerous reference points and ecotourism potential. Among Indonesian rural regions, Pemuda emerges as a rather typical representative, which maintains local agricultural and fishing traditions, as well as the community self-governance system.
