Balakong ( Jawi: بالقوڠ; ) or Cheras South ( Jawi: چراس سلتن; ) is a township in

Hulu Langat District Hulu Langat District is a district located in the southeastern corner of Selangor, between Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan. It is bordered by the state of Pahang to the east and north, Gombak district to the north-west, Federal Territory of Kual ...

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. Located to the southeast of

Greater Kuala Lumpur Greater Kuala Lumpur is the geographical term that determines the boundaries of Metropolitan Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Though similar to the term "Klang Valley", there remains a variation between the two. It is similar to Greater London and Grea ...

, the township consists mainly of residential condominiums, office complexes and factories. Notable landmarks in Balakong include AEON Mall Cheras Selatan and Sin Ann Meow Temple (星安庙).

History

Name

According to local Chinese residents, the name Balakong comes from the Chinese New Village, Balakong Chinese New Village. The village was drawn up and barred-wired by the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

under the

Briggs Plan The Briggs Plan ( ms, Rancangan Briggs) was a military plan devised by British General Sir Harold Briggs shortly after his appointment in 1950 as Director of Operations during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960). The plan aimed to defeat the Ma ...

during the Malayan Emergency. Another belief is that there was a river running through the village named Sungai Balak and that the village adopted the river's name. It is believed that "-Kong" in Balakong comes from the Hakka word for river (江), and Balakong refers to the Hakka pronunciation of the river, Sungai Balak. It is believed that there was an upper and lower kong within the village.

Before 1990s

The village was surrounded by rubber plantation surrounding former tin mines. Most families in the village were rubber tappers. There was a primary school, a few Chinese temples, a wet market, a hilltop Lutheran church, a cowboy town street, a town hall, and a football field. The village was divided by Sungai Balak.

After 1990s

During Taming Jaya's development, locals mentioned that the developer of Taming Jaya rebuilt Balakong Road into a two-lane highway starting at The Mines and terminated at Cheras 11th Mile. A newer road was constructed that connected the village to Taman Connaught. Taming Jaya's developer also had developed a small-industry area and housing estate on a rubber plantation opposite the village. Since the early 2010's, Balakong has seen rapid commercial development in the form of Dataran C180 and Cheras Traders Square.

Education

List of schools in Balakong

Primary Schools

Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Balakong Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Batu 11 Cheras Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Connought 2 Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar Tun Hussein Onn Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar Tun Hussein Onn 2 Sekolah Kebangsaan Cheras Jaya Sekolah Kebangsaan Desa Baiduri Sekolah Kebangsaan Taming Jaya

Secondary Schools

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandar Damai Perdana Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandar Tun Hussein Onn 2 Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Cheras Jaya Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Cheras Perdana Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Perimbun

Politics

Balakong is represented in the Dewan Rakyat of the

Malaysian Parliament The Parliament of Malaysia ( ms, Parlimen Malaysia) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, lit. "People's Assembly") and the ...

by as part of the

Bangi Bangi may refer to: *Bangi (surname), an Indian surname *Bangi District, Bangi, Afghanistan *Bangi, Iran (disambiguation) *Bangi, Nepal *Bangi, Malaysia ** Bangi Komuter station, Malaysia * Bandar Baru Bangi, Malaysia * Bangi (federal constituency), ...

federal constituency.

Syahredzan Johan Syahredzan Johan (born 10 June 1983) is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bangi since November 2022. He is a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harap ...

of DAP has represented the constituency since

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

. On the state level,

Balakong Balakong ( Jawi: بالقوڠ; ) or Cheras South ( Jawi: چراس سلتن; ) is a township in Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Located to the southeast of Greater Kuala Lumpur, the township consists mainly of residential condominiums, ...

is represented in the

Selangor State Legislative Assembly The Selangor State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Negeri Selangor) is the unicameral state legislature of the Malaysian state of Selangor. The State Assembly is composed of 56 members representing single-member constituencies throughout the sta ...

Wong Siew Ki Wong Siew Ki (王诗棋; pinyin: Wáng shī qí; born 17 May 1986), is a Malaysian politician who has served as Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Balakong since September 2018. She is a member of the Democratic Action ...

of DAP since the

2018 Balakong by-election A by-election was held on 8 September 2018 for the Selangor State Legislative Assembly seat of Balakong. The seat became vacant after the death of the incumbent assemblyman, Eddie Ng Tien Chee on 20 July 2018 in a traffic accident on the Cheras� ...

after the death of the incumbent assemblyman Eddie Ng Tien Chee. On the local level, Balakong is administered by the

Kajang Municipal Council Kajang Municipal Council ( Malay: ''Majlis Perbandaran Kajang'', Jawi: مجليس ڤربندرن كاجڠ) is the local government authority serving Hulu Langat District in Selangor, Malaysia. History The Kajang Municipal Council was granted mun ...

Infrastructure

Today, Balakong is accessible via the Balakong Interchange of SILK Highway, which joins with the

North–South Expressway Southern Route The North–South Expressway Southern Route is an interstate controlled-access highway running parallel to the southwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The expressway forms the south section of the North–South Expressway, connecting the sta ...

. The township has since developed into an integrated township with residential, commercial and industrial areas. The

Bandar Tun Hussein Onn MRT station The Bandar Tun Hussein Onn MRT station is a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station in Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, located in Cheras Selatan commune, Hulu Langat region, Selangor, Malaysia. It serves as one of the stations on the Klang Valley Mass Rap ...

and

Batu 11 Cheras MRT station The Batu 11 Cheras station (Working name: ''Balakong station'') is a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station serving the suburb of Batu 11 Cheras, Balakong and Bandar Sungai Long in Selangor, Malaysia. It serves as one of the stations on Klang Val ...

are Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations serving the suburbs of Batu 11 Cheras, Balakong and Bandar Sungai Long in Selangor, Malaysia. It is served by the Kajang Line and is part of the

Klang Valley Integrated Transit System The Klang Valley Integrated Transit System is an integrated transport network that primarily serves the area of Klang Valley and Greater Kuala Lumpur. The system currently consists of 11 fully operating rail lines; two commuter rail lines, f ...

. The station is located at Balakong Interchange of Cheras-Kajang Expressway. Balakong consists of many shopping malls that locals and tourists frequently visit. Some of the malls in Balakong include AEON Mall Cheras Selatan, Giant Balakong, and Econsave Balakong.

Selangor Turf Club Selangor Turf Club is a horse racing track located in Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. It is one of three horse racing courses in the country; the other two are in Ipoh, Perak and Penang. History Selangor Turf Club was founded in 1896. For nearly ...

is located on the former site of New Balakong Village. To cope with the increase in public demand for better healthcare services and facilities, Columbia Asia Hospital established a branch in Balakong in 2010.

References

External links

{{Coord, 3, 1, 48, N, 101, 45, 0, E, type:city_region:MY_source:nlwiki, display=title Hulu Langat District Townships in Selangor