Bukit Batok

Bukit Batok
Planning Area and HDB Town
Other transcription(s)
 • Chinese 武吉巴督
 • Pinyin Wǔjí bā dū
 • Malay Bukit Batok
 • Tamil புக்கிட் பாத்தோக்
From top left to right: Aerial view of Bukit Batok West, Aerial view of Bukit Gombak, Bukit Batok Town Park at night, Old Ford Motor Factory, Millennia Institute
Bukit Batok

Location of Bukit Batok within Singapore

Coordinates: SG 1°21′32.51″N 103°45′49.25″E / 1.3590306°N 103.7636806°E / 1.3590306; 103.7636806
Country  Singapore
Region

West Region

CDC
Town councils
  • Chua Chu Kang Town Council
  • Jurong-Clementi Town Council
Constituencies
Town announced
  • 21 November 1975[1]
DGP exhibited
PA incorporated
  • 22 January 1999[2]
Government
 • Mayor

South West CDC

 • Members of Parliament

Bukit Batok SMC

Chua Chu Kang GRC

  • Low Yen Ling

Hong Kah North SMC

Jurong GRC

Area[3][4]
 • Total 11.13 km2 (4.30 sq mi)
Area rank 25th
 • Residential 2.91 km2 (1.12 sq mi)
Population (2015)[3][4][5]
 • Total 139,270
 • Rank 12th
 • Density 12,513/km2 (32,410/sq mi)
 • Density rank 11th
Demonym(s)

Official

  • Bukit Batok resident

Colloquial

  • Bukit Batoker
  • Bukit Batokian
Postal districts 21, 23
Dwelling units 32,275
Projected ultimate 53,000

Bukit Batok /bukɪt ˈbɑːtɒk/ (Chinese: 武吉巴督, Tamil: புக்கிட் பாத்தோக்), also known as either Bukit Batok New Town or Bukit Batok Town, and often abbreviated as Bt. Batok, is a planning area and matured residential town straddling along the eastern boundary of the West Region of Singapore. Bukit Batok statistically ranks in as the 25th largest, the 12th most populous and the 11th most densely populated planning area in the Republic.[3][5] It is bordered by six other planning areas surrounding it, Choa Chu Kang to the north and north-west, Bukit Panjang to the north-east and east, Clementi to the south, Bukit Timah to the south-east, Jurong East to the south-west and Tengah to the west.[6][7]

Bukit Batok largely sits on Gombak norite, a geological formation that is found in high concentrations within the planning area itself, as well as in the western parts of neighbouring Bukit Panjang.[8][9][10] It was this presence of the igneous rock that made Bukit Batok a pivotal location for the quarrying industry in Singapore around the turn of the mid-20th century.[11]

In the early stages of the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II, Bukit Batok became significant ground for both the Allied and Axis powers.[11] The failed attempt by the British to defend the vicinity during the Battle of Bukit Timah and their subsequent surrender on 15 February 1942 to the Japanese at the Ford Motor Factory in Hillview; was described by Winston Churchill as the "largest capitulation" in British military history.[12] Singapore consequently underwent four years of Japanese occupation, which eventually ended following Operation Tiderace in early-September 1945. Quarrying practices soon resumed after the war, continuing up until the 1990s when resources became exhausted and the area's ecology, threatened.[13]

Development of Bukit Batok Town began in the December of 1975,[1] transforming the former quarrying village into a self-sustainable new town in the rough span of a decade.[11] As a testament to its heritage, several norite formations and ridges remained preserved, most of which can be found at both Bukit Batok Nature Park and Bukit Batok Town Park as a characteristic feature of the modern-day town.[14][15]

Etymology

Numerous differing accounts describe the origin of the name Bukit Batok. Bukit means "hill" in Malay, thus the name of the town gives the impression of it being hilly. Batok, however, has several interpretations.

One version has it that, according to a Javanese village chief in the tiny village of Gassing, coconut trees grew on the hills in the area. Hence the name batok, the Javanese term for coconuts.

The Chinese interpretation is that the hills were formed from solid granite, which is called batu in Malay, and this was corrupted to bato and finally batok. Another story has it that the hill resembles a skull top and batok could also be construed to mean "skull top".

Others believe that batok, the Malay word for cough, is linked to the place either because of its cool air (causing coughs and colds), or due to the sound of explosives historically used at its granite quarry, Little Guilin.

Geography

Subzones

There are 9 subzones in Bukit Batok, namely

History

Earthworks to build Bukit Batok started in 1979. The first HDB estate blocks numbered Blk 2xx were completed in 1983, followed by 1xx and 6xx in 1985. Subsequently, the blocks at Bukit Gombak were finished in 1987, with Block 3xx ready for occupancy in 1989. Earthworks at Bukit Batok West began later.

Commercial activities

A block of HDB flats along Bukit Batok West Avenue 5

Bukit Batok's main shopping complex West Mall was opened in mid-1998. Developed by Alprop Pte. Ltd., a joint venture between the United Industrial Corporation (UIC) and Singapore Land, it has 8 storeys in total gross floor area of 283,000 sq ft (26,300 m²) on a land area of 106,000 sq ft (9,800 m²). It was built at a cost of S$170 million and houses amenities including a Post Office, Community Library and Cineplex, together with shops, restaurants and a supermarket.

Transport

There are two MRT Stations in the Bukit Batok area: Bukit Batok MRT Station and Bukit Gombak MRT Station.

The Bukit Batok Bus Interchange, sited near to Bukit Batok MRT station and West Mall, is of moderate size and wholly used by Tower Transit Singapore. The interchange and most of the services were previously operated by SBS Buses, the precursor of SBS Transit, until 1999/2000; and after that it is SMRT Buses (formerly known as Trans-Island, or TIBS). SBS Transit still has a bus depot in Bukit Batok. Under the new Government Contracting Model for public bus routes, Bukit Batok was tendered out to Tower Transit Singapore, a division of Transit Systems.

Education

Primary Schools

Secondary Schools

Tertiary Institutions

Millennia Institute, formed from the merger of Jurong Institute and Outram Institute, moved to its new campus off Bukit Batok West Avenue 3 in January 2007. Bukit Batok is also home to Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre (SHATEC).

Recreation

The Bukit Batok swimming complex is located off East Avenue 6. There are many parks in the neighbourhood, including the Bukit Batok Town Park and the Bukit Batok Nature Park.

The CDANS Bukit Batok Country Club, for reservist members of the Civil Defence forces and their families, was opened in 1998. It offers a golf driving range, swimming pool, bowling alley and sports facilities for relatively affordable prices.

The Civil Service Club Bukit Batok Clubhouse offers swimming, bowling and related recreational facilities to civil servants, their families and the public. It is located near Bukit Batok Town Centre and was opened on 1 March 2006.

Politics

The jurisdiction of Bukit Batok is shared by the Jurong Group Representation Constituency (Jurong GRC), which has an office at Bukit Batok Central and manages much of Bukit Batok; and Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency (Chua Chu Kang GRC), which manages areas north of Bukit Batok West Avenue 3 and Bukit Batok Central. There are four members of Parliament, two from each GRC, representing various areas in Bukit Batok.

Bukit Batok is a single-member constituency by itself in the 1991 general elections and before, and also after 2015 general elections. It was later mainly subsumed into the Hong Kah GRC. As of 2011, Bukit Batok represents in Jurong GRC, there are two constituencies in Bukit Batok, one of which is Rahayu Mazam (Bukit Batok East) and David Ong Kim Huat (Bukit Batok).

In the same elections in 2011, Bukit Gombak represents in Chua Chu Kang GRC, there are two constituencies also in Bukit Gombak, one of which it is a different system. Bukit Gombak represents as Low Yen Ling MP, while Amy Khor Lean Suan is under Hong Kah North SMC.

References

  1. 1 2 "BUKIT BATOK WILL HOUSE 10,000". The Straits Times. 22 November 1975.
  2. 1 2 "Singapore Infopedia - Development guide plan". National Library Board.
  3. 1 2 3 City Population - statistics, maps and charts | Bukit Batok
  4. 1 2 HDB Key Statistics FY2014/2015
  5. 1 2 "Singapore Residents by Planning Area/Subzone, Age Group and Sex, June 2000 – 2015" (XLS). Statistics Singapore. Statistics Singapore. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "URA 2014 Master Plan". Urban Redevelopment Authority.
  7. ↑ Singapore Department of Statistics - Planning Areas/Subzones in Singapore (Year 2015)
  8. ↑ "GC41060 Gombak Norite Formation (Earthcache) in Singapore". geocaching.com.
  9. ↑ "Rocks around the island". The Straits Times. 11 November 1985.
  10. ↑ James Tann (8 March 2014). "Trekking Bukit Gombak in search of WW2 relics.".
  11. 1 2 3 "Singapore Infopedia - Bukit Batok". National Library Board.
  12. ↑ Winston Churchill (2002) [1959]. The Second World War (Abridged ed.). London: Pimlico. ISBN 9780712667029.
  13. ↑ Aaron Chan (23 February 2011). "The Forsaken Quarry of the West And the Mysterious Shrine". One-North Explorers.
  14. ↑ "Bukit Batok to have 26,000 flats". The Straits Times. 16 September 1981.
  15. ↑ "New HDB estate". The Business Times. 16 September 1981.

External links

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