Kepala Batas (, ) is a suburb of

Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located on the Malay Peninsula and separated from Penang Island by the Penang Strait, it shares borders with Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. The city spans an are ...

and the seat of the Northern Seberang Perai District in the Malaysian state of

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. It lies about 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Butterworth and 15km (9.3 mi) southwest of

Sungai Petani Sungai Petani ( abbr. Sg. Petani or SP) is a city in Kuala Muda District, Kedah, Malaysia. The population of the municipal area of Sungai Petani is larger than Kedah's state capital, Alor Setar. It is located about 55 km south of Alor Set ...

Etymology

''Kepala Batas'' means "front end of the paddy field" in Malay; ''Kepala'' is the top or front end of something, and ''Batas'' is the earthern dykes bordering a paddy field. Kepala Batas is mostly a muddy region, where paddy cultivation became a major agricultural activity for its residents. The abundance of paddy fields in the area thus gave rise to the place's name.

Geography

Demographics

, Kepala Batas had a population of 361. Chinese and Malays each formed about 36% of the population, followed by Indians at 27%.

In popular culture

* A British plantation bungalow in Kepala Batas, the Bertam House, was featured in ''A House Of its Time'', a documentary series created by Freestate Productions and broadcast by

Mediacorp Mediacorp Pte. Ltd. is the state media, state-owned media conglomerate of Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the investment arm of the Government of Singapore—it owns and operates television channels, radio, and digital media properties. ...

Notable people

* Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia (31 October 2003 – 3 April 2009). * Abdul Rahman Abbas, 7th

Yang di-Pertua Negeri In Malaysia, the Governor, officially Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Jawi script, Jawi: , ) is a constitutional title given to the head of state in States and federal territories of Malaysia, states without a ruler, namely: Penang, Malacca, Sabah and S ...

of the state of

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

(2001–2021). * Nor Mohamed Yakcop, former Malaysian

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Malay language, Malay: ''Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri''; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a member of Cabinet of Malaysia who administers a portfolio through the Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia) ...

and Minister of Finance II. * Reezal Merican bin Naina Merican, Deputy

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

(29 July 2015 - 9 May 2018), Minister of Youth and Sports (10 March 2020 - 16 August 2021),

Minister of Housing and Local Government The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed following the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government. It was formed, as the Ministry of Local Government and Planning, ...

(30 August 2021 - 24 November 2022), Member of the

Parliament of Malaysia The Parliament of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, Literal translation, lit. "People's As ...

for the seat of Kepala Batas (2013-2022) in the state of

and Member of the Penang State Legislative Assembly for the seat of Bertam (since 2023).

References

North Seberang Perai District Towns in Penang {{Penang-geo-stub