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Batu Gajah

Coordinates: 4°28′N 101°03′E / 4.467°N 101.050°E / 4.467; 101.050
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the federal constituency represented in the Dewan Rakyat, see Batu Gajah (federal constituency).
Batu Gajah
Town and district capital
Other transcription(s)
 • Jawiباتو ڬاجه
 • Tamilபத்து காஜா
 • Chinese华都牙也
From top, left to right:
Kellie's Castle, Batu Gajah Hospital, Batu Gajah Courthouse, Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge No. 5
Flag of Batu Gajah
Flag
Official seal of Batu Gajah
Seal
Batu Gajah is located in Perak
Batu Gajah
Location in Perak
Batu Gajah is located in Malaysia
Batu Gajah
Batu Gajah (Malaysia)
Coordinates: 4°47′N 101°04′E / 4.783°N 101.067°E / 4.783; 101.067
Country Malaysia
State Perak
DistrictKinta
Government
 • TypeLocal government
 • BodyBatu Gajah District Council
 • PresidentMohamad Razif Ramli
Area
[1]
 • Total
67,470 ha (166,720 acres)
Population
 (2017)
 • Total
133,422
 • Density200/km2 (510/sq mi)
Websitewww.mdbg.gov.my/ms
Batu Gajah District Council

Majlis Daerah Batu Gajah
مجليس دايره باتو ڬاجه
Local Government Act 1976
Type
Type
History
Founded1 September 1977
Preceded byKinta West District Council
Leadership
President
Mohamad Razif Ramli
Motto
Mudah, Cepat, Berkesan
Simple, Fast, Effective
Meeting place
Jalan Haji Abdul Wahab, 31000 Batu Gajah, Perak
Website
www.mdbg.gov.my

Batu Gajah (population 133,422) is the seat of Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia. It is administered by the Batu Gajah District Council (Malay: Majlis Daerah Batu Gajah), formerly known as Kinta West District Council (Malay: Majlis Daerah Kinta Barat).

Etymology

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The name Batu Gajah in Malay means "elephant rock", it is presumably derived from two large boulders (batu, 'stone') that resembled elephants (gajah, 'elephant') found along the Kinta River. Folklore claims that huge elephant figures were made of stones to scare away the elephants that destroyed the villagers' sugar cane crops.[2]

History

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Famous for its tin mining long before the Independence Day of Malaya,[3] Batu Gajah had been an ideal place for Chinese immigrants to stay and work during those years. This contributes to a significant percentage of Chinese in the population of Batu Gajah today. The Indian Settlement village (the name was changed to Kampung Baru Desa Changkat) at Changkat has a large Indian population of Tamils and also a small minority of Punjabis who built a Sikh temple which becomes the pride of the residents and a landmark in the village today.[4]

Batu Gajah had an established pre-war British English school, which was renamed Sultan Yussuf School (SYS) after the war. The Sultan of Perak DYMM Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-lah is an alumnus of this school. Formerly known as the Government English School (GES), it was founded by Mr. Malai Perumal Pillay in 1907. The school was built from the rubble of an old jail. Over the years, it has produced many successful students.

Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort Clubhouse

Batu Gajah since lies on the bank of Sungai Kinta, a little downstream from the major confluence of Sungai Raya. It started out as one of the many villages of mukim Sungai Terap, developed under its titular chief, the Sri Amar DiRaja, the early 19th century.

Features

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The attractions here include two golf courses, Kinta Golf Club and Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Course, and nearby pre-independence castle built by a Scottish rubber plantation owner, Sir William Kellie Smith: Kellie's Castle.

There are many hawker stalls and restaurants serving food such as noodles, laksa, and Indian-Muslim mee goreng and mee rebus. Youths spend time at cybercafés and around the local supermarket. In recent years, Western style food franchises opened branches in the town. A supermarket has opened and is in business.

Development

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In recent years, Batu Gajah has seen a lot of improvement. In September 2012, Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. Ltd., one of the major electric locomotive manufacturers in China, agreed to build a rolling-stock factory in Batu Gajah.[5]

Transport

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Batu Gajah railway station

In 2007, Batu Gajah received a new Batu Gajah railway station. Near Kampung Pisang at the southern end of town, it replaced the old station at Jalan Pusing which is being turned into a museum and then foodstalls.

In addition, the Malaysian railway operator, Keretapi Tanah Melayu, is constructing a new central workshop in the vicinity of Batu Gajah to replace its facility in Sentul. Located near the new railway station, the centre will house repair workshops, training facilities and staff quarters. The center was scheduled for completion in August 2009 at a projected cost of RM 430 million.[6]

A new four-lane highway connects to the Ipoh-Lumut Highway at Seputeh and ties to the North–South Expressway at Gopeng. The highway passes near the new railway station through Bemban at the West side of town.

Education

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Primary schools

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  • SK Sultan Yussuf
  • SK St Bernadette's Convent
  • SK Toh Indera Wangsa Ahmad
  • SK Pusing
  • SK Tanjung Tualang
  • SK Seri Jaya
  • SK Bakap
  • SJK(T) Changkat
  • SJK(T) Ladang Kinta Valley
  • SJK(C) Yuk Kwan
  • SJK(C) Thung Hon
  • SJK(C) Bemban
  • SJK(C) Bandar Seri Botani

Secondary schools

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  • SMK Sultan Yussuf[7]
  • SMK St Bernadette's Convent[8]
  • SMK Toh Indera Wangsa Ahmad
  • SMJK Yuk Kwan
  • SMK Dato' Bendahara CM Yusuf
  • SMK Pusing
  • SMK Tronoh

Tertiary institutions

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  • Batu Gajah Community College[9]
  • GIATMARA Batu Gajah[10]

Notable people

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Landmarks

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Kellie Castle

Some heritage buildings and landmarks in Batu Gajah that are famous throughout Perak:

  • Kellie's Castle (an old unfinished castle built by a Scottish rubber tycoon)
  • Sri Maha Mariamman Hindu Temple of Kinta Kellas Estate
  • Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge No. 5
  • Sultan Yussuf School or SMK Sultan Yussuf, the oldest school in Batu Gajah, established in 1907
  • Batu Gajah Prison, the second oldest in Malaysia after the Taiping Prison.
  • Batu Gajah old courthouse established in 1892[13]
  • St. Joseph Catholic Church
  • Kinta Golf Course
  • Batu Gajah Hospital
  • Royale Hotel Batu Gajah
  • God's Little Acre: A cemetery for the British pioneers, military servicemen, policemen, tin miners, planters and civilians named after the memorial cross erected by the Perak Planter's Association and others to commemorate their lives in fighting the Communist Insurgency 1949–1960.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Background : Official Portal of Batu Gajah District Council (MDBG)". mdbg.gov.my. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  2. ^ "Little town with an English castle". The Star. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  3. ^ (in Malay) Batu Gajah District Office Archived January 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "New village with a difference". The Star. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  5. ^ "CSR to open Malaysian rolling stock plant – Railway Gazette". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  6. ^ Keretapi Tanah Melayu Infrastructure Development in Batu Gajah Archived January 14, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ SMK Sultan Yussuf. "Laman Utama Portal SMK Sultan Yussuf". Archived from the original on 2008-05-26.
  8. ^ SMK St. Bernadette’s Convent. "SMK St. Bernadette's Convent".
  9. ^ "Kolej Komuniti Batu Gajah Official Portal". Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  10. ^ "Direktori GIATMARA". Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  11. ^ Fasken, Hugh (2006-08-15). "Obituary: David Fasken". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  12. ^ "Des Lock". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  13. ^ "Travel Art: Colonial charm". New Straits Times. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  14. ^ Malaysia, Batu Gajah. "God's Little Acre". Ministry of Defence, UK. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
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4°28′N 101°03′E / 4.467°N 101.050°E / 4.467; 101.050

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