Other ethnic group are mostly immigrants coming from different parts of Indonesia. Due to its proximity from Singapore, Riau Islands have become a melting pot for different ethnic groups coming from other parts of Indonesia. The Javanese is the dominant ethnic group of the immigrants, forming 18.2% of the total population. The Javanese who stayed here are mostly due to the Transmigration program enacted by the Dutch during the colonial period to reduce the overpopulated Java and continued until the end of the New Order. Another notable immigrants are the Minangkabau (Minang), who mostly originated from West Sumatra. Owing to its "rantau" (migration) culture, many Minangkabau people has migrated away from their homeland.The history of the Minangkabau migration in West Sumatra to the Riau mainland and the Riau Islands has been recorded to have lasted a very long time. When the means of transportation were still using the river, many Minang people migrated to various cities such as Tanjung Pinang and Batam. Other ethnic groups, such as the Batak from North Sumatra, the Banjarese from South Kalimantan and the Buginese from South Sulawesi also inhabit the province, albeit to a lesser extent.