A small minority of Malay work in a government sector, such as teachers, nurses, district officers, and police.

[5] In 1911, a man from Guangdong named Wen Ru Zhu (翁如珠) was the first Chinese to arrive in Sarikei.

Four years later in 1915, he together with one of his family member, brought some daily necessities, climbed through the mountains and arrive in Pakan to trade with the Iban people living there for agricultural products.

[4][note 3] Since creation of the Sarikei Division in 1973, the Pakan sub-district was put under the jurisdiction of Julau district.

In 2010, Pakan town had a total population of 14,570, where there were 14,023 Iban people, 402 Chinese, 80 Malays, and 65 from other ethnic groups.

It consisted of various activities such as sports, entertainment, culture, and arts and various stalls selling food such as Smoke house (Ruman Asap) and drinks.