- Bukit Batok New Town
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Bukit Batok 
English Bukit Batok Chinese 武吉巴督 (Pinyin Wǔjíbādū) Malay Bukit Batok Tamil புக்கிட் பாத்தோ Ruling party Places of Interest Bukit Batok New Town Total area: 8.02 km² Residential area: 2.91 km² Dwelling units: 32,998 Projected ultimate: 47,000 Population: 113,100 Bukit Batok New Town is a new town located in western Singapore and within the boundaries of the Bukit Batok Planning Area. It is bounded by Bukit Batok Road, the Pan Island Expressway, along the western edge of Toh Tuck private estate, Bukit Batok East Avenue 6, Old Jurong Road, Bukit Timah Road, the north edge of Bukit Batok Nature Park, south edge of Hillview estate, east and north edge of Bukit Batok Town Park, and Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 back to Bukit Batok Road.
Contents
Etymology
Top view of Bukit Batok West.
There are many different versions of the origins of its 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 and hence the name batok, the Javanese term for coconuts.
The Chinese interpretation is that the hills were of solid granite and hence called batu, the Malay name for "stone", which was corrupted to bato and finally batok. Another version argues that the hill resembles a skull top and batok could also be construed to mean "skull top".
Others felt that the cold air in the area, which led to coughs and colds, conferred on the place the name batok, the Malay term for cough. This could also be a reminder of the days when the area had a large granite quarry at Little Guilin; coughing refers to the sounds of the explosives used.
A more ribald explanation has it that the two hills in the area looked like green buttocks to the British, a word which suffered verbal mutilation among the Chinese to finally emerge as batok.
Commercial activities
A block of HDB flats along Bukit Batok West Avenue 5The 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.
West Mall has many amenities and shops such as a 6-Halls Eng Wah Cineplex, a Post Office, Popular Bookstore, Harvey Norman, a Community Library, KFC, Burger King, Watson's and a Shop N Save Supermarket.
Transport
Main article: Bukit Batok MRT StationMain article: Bukit Batok Bus InterchangeThere are two MRT Stations in the Bukit Batok area: Bukit Batok MRT Station and Bukit Gombak MRT Station. The Bukit Batok Bus Interchange, which is near Bukit Batok MRT station and West Mall, is of moderate size and wholly used by SMRT Buses, part of SMRT Corporation. The interchange and most of the services were previously operated by SBS Buses, the precursor of SBS Transit, until 1999/2000; SBS Transit still has a bus depot in Bukit Batok. The following bus services are in operation:
- Feeder services
Service Between And SMRT Buses Feeder Services 941 Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Bukit Batok West Avenue 8 (loop) 945 Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 (loop) 947 Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Bukit Batok Road (loop) - Trunk services
Service Between And SMRT Buses Trunk Services 61 Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Eunos Bus Interchange 77 Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Marina Centre Bus Terminal 106 Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Marina Centre Bus Terminal 173 Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Clementi Bus Interchange 177 Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange 189 Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Kent Ridge Bus Terminal 852 Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Yishun Bus Interchange SMRT Buses Short Trip Services 173A Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Bukit Batok East Avenue 4 189A Bukit Batok Bus Interchange Bukit Batok Street 23 In addition, the following bus services pass through parts of Bukit Batok:
Service Between And SBS Transit Trunk Services 66 Jurong East Bus Interchange Bedok Bus Interchange 157 Boon Lay Bus Interchange Toa Payoh Bus Interchange 174 Boon Lay Bus Interchange New Bridge Road Bus Terminal SBS Transit Fast Forward Services 174e Boon Lay Bus Interchange New Bridge Road Bus Terminal SBS Transit Express Services 506 Jurong East Bus Interchange Upper East Coast Bus Terminal Service Between And SMRT Buses Trunk Services 176 Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange Bukit Merah Bus Interchange 178 Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange Boon Lay Bus Interchange 187 Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange Boon Lay Bus Interchange 188 Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange HarbourFront Bus Interchange 963 Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange HarbourFront Bus Interchange 970 Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange Shenton Way Bus Terminal 985 Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal SMRT Buses Express Services 188E Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange HarbourFront Bus Interchange 963E Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange HarbourFront Bus Interchange 963R Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange Resorts World Sentosa SMRT Buses Trunk Services NR8 Marina Centre Bus Terminal Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 Education
There are several institutions for education in Bukit Batok:
- Primary schools
- Bukit View Primary School is a government primary school. The current principal is Mdm. Jenny S. G. Law.
- Dazhong Primary School is a government primary school. The current principal is Mr Syed Mohamed Ashraf Shah (moving to Jurong East for the next 2 years).
- Hong Kah Primary School is a government primary school. The current principal is Mdm. Lee Lay Keok.
- Keming Primary School is a government primary school. The current principal is Mr. Kevin Tay.
- Lianhua Primary School is a government primary school. The current principal is Mrs. Lynda Soh.
- Princess Elizabeth Primary School is a government primary school. The current principal is Mrs. Mary Ngiam Siew Wah.
- St. Anthony's Primary School is a government primary school. The current principal is Ms Christina Teo.
- Secondary schools
- Bukit Batok Secondary School is a government secondary school. The current principal is Mdm Lee Lee Sia Rosa.
- Bukit View Secondary School is a government secondary school. The current principal is Mr Vasuthevan K Ramamurthy
- Dunearn Secondary School is a government secondary school. The current principal is Mr. Wong Lok Oon.
- Hillgrove Secondary School is a government secondary school. The current principal is Mr. Lee Kenneth.
- Swiss Cottage Secondary School is a government secondary school. The current principal is Mr. Liu Earnler.
- Yusof Ishak Secondary School is a government secondary school. The school is named after Singapore's first president, Inche Yusuf bin Ishak. The current principal is Richard Chew.
- Centralised Institute
- 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.
- Higher institutions of learning
- ITE College West (Bukit Batok Campus) (merged with Ang Mo Kio, Clementi, Balestier and Dover to form a regional campus at Choa Chu Kang in July 2010)
- Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre (SHATEC)
Places of worship
- Abundant Life Baptist Church
- Ar-Raudhah Mosque
- Bukit Batok Presbyterian Church
- Church of St. Mary of the Angels
- Grace Assembly of God
- Guilin combined temple
- Hock Thong temple
- Hoon Lam Tua Peh Kong temple
- Jesus Lives Church
- Ling Hong Tong temple
- Sattha Puchaniyaram Buddhist temple
- See Tien Foh combined temple
- Tong Tien Kung temple
- Wu Lui Sien Sze temple
- Zu-Lin temple
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 (often considered part of Bukit Gombak) 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 Bukit Batok Clubhouse offering similar recreational facilities to civil servants and their families and the public is located near the 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 Hong Kah Group Representation Constituency (Hong Kah 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 was a single-member constituency by itself in the 1991 general elections and before. It was later mainly subsumed into the Hong Kah GRC. As of 2001, Bukit Batok, as mentioned above, was mainly within the Jurong GRC, with the rest in Hong Kah GRC. In Jurong GRC the ruling party PAP slate comprising Lim Boon Heng, Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Halimah binte Yacob, Ong Chit Chung, and Tharman Shanmugaratnam got 79.8% of the vote to defeat a SDP slate led by their secretary-general Chee Soon Juan. Currently Ong represents the Bukit Batok division and Halimah the Bukit Batok East division. These areas include Bukit Batok Central, the MRT station etc.
In the same elections in 2001, the PAP slate comprising Yeo Cheow Tong, John Chen Seow Phun, Ahmad Khalis bin Abdul Ghani, Ang Mong Seng and Amy Khor Lean Suan defeated an SDP slate with 79.7% of the vote in Hong Kah. Ang now represents the Bukit Gombak division, roughly the Bukit Gombak and Hillview neighbourhoods. Khor represents the Hong Kah North division, HDB apartment blocks in areas roughly bordered by Bukit Batok Road and Bukit Batok West avenues 2, 5 and 7.
Media
Many of MediaCorp's television channels (Channel 5, HD5, Channel 8, Channel NewsAsia, Suria, Vasantham and okto) are transmitted from Bukit Batok.
The First Singapore Idol winner, Taufik Batisah, is currently residing in Bukit Batok with his mother and brother.
External links
- NHG Bukit Batok Polyclinic
- Bukit Batok Division Website
- West Mall
- Bukit Batok Driving Centre
- CDANS Country Club facilities
- Civil Service Club (CSC)
- Singapore International Hotel and Tourism Education Centre (SHATEC)
- Bukit Batok Picture Gallery ~ 65 digital photographs
Public housing in Singapore Organisations 
Building Programmes Build-To-Order (HDB) · Design, Build and Sell Scheme · Home Ownership Scheme · Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme · Walk In SelectionUpgrading Programmes Home Improvement Programme · Interim Upgrading Programme · Lift Upgrading Programme · Main Upgrading Programme · Neighbourhood Renewal ProgrammeOther Additional CPF Housing Grant · Lease Buyback Scheme · Pinnacle@Duxton · Treelodge@Punggol · Void deck
Categories:- Places in Singapore
- New towns in Singapore
- Bukit Batok
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