Bukit Batok

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.

The 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, A bookstore, Harvey Norman, a Community Library, KFC, Burger King, Watson's and a Shop N Save Supermarket.

There 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

• Trunk services

In addition, the following bus services pass through parts of Bukit Batok:

• SBS Transit

• SMRT Buses

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 (in Jurong East from 2010 to 2011).
  • 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. Kelvin 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)

• 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

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.

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 (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 2011, Bukit Batok represents in Jurong GRC, there are two constituencies in Bukit Batok, one of which is Halimah bin Yacob (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.

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.

• 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