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 Malaysia is a federation of thirteen states and three federal territories, which form the primary administrative divisions of the country. Eleven states and two territories are part of Peninsular Malaysia, while two states and one territory ...

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 Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *A nickname or slur for an Irish person Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird species *Black ...

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 Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

and Malays each formed about 36% of the population, followed by

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

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 Abdul Rahman bin Abbas (born 15 April 1938) is a Malaysian politician and teacher who had served as the 7th Governor of Penang from 1 May 2001 to 30 April 2021. He is a former politician from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). Abdul ...

, 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 Nor Mohamed bin Yakcop ( Jawi: نور محمد بن يعقوب; born 24 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, in charge of Economic Planning Unit from 2009 to 2013. He had previously ...

, 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 Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

(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 The Penang State Legislative Assembly is the legislature of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 40 elected lawmakers representing single-member constituencies throughout Penang. The state legis ...

for the seat of

Bertam Bertam is a state constituency in Penang, Malaysia, that has been represented in the Penang State Legislative Assembly. The state constituency was first contested in 1974 and is mandated to return a single Assemblyman to the Penang State Legislat ...

(since 2023).

References

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