The conflict between the Dayak and Madura communities in Sampit dates back to the 1990s, when the Indonesian government implemented a policy of transmigration, aimed at relocating people from densely populated areas in Java and other parts of Indonesia to less populated areas in the outer islands. Many Madurese people, from the island of Madura, were relocated to Sampit, which is located in the heart of the island of Borneo, and has a predominantly Dayak population.