| Batu Gajah | |
| Translit Lang1: | Other |
| Translit Lang1 Type2: | Jawi |
| Translit Lang1 Info2: | باتو ڬاجه |
| Translit Lang1 Type3: | Tamil |
| Translit Lang1 Info3: | பத்து காஜா |
| Translit Lang1 Type4: | Chinese |
| Settlement Type: | Town and district capital |
| Pushpin Map: | Malaysia Perak#Malaysia |
| Pushpin Label Position: | none |
| Coordinates: | 4.7833°N 105°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kinta |
| Government Type: | Local government |
| Governing Body: | Batu Gajah District Council |
| Leader Title: | President |
| Leader Name: | Mohamad Razif Ramli |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Ha: | 67,470 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Population Total: | 133,422 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Batu Gajah District Council | |
| Native Name: | Majlis Daerah Batu Gajah مجليس دايره باتو ڬاجه |
| Native Name Lang: | Malay |
| Legislature: | Local Government Act 1976 |
| Coa Pic: | The Seal of Batu Gajah District Council.png |
| Foundation: | 1 September 1977 |
| House Type: | Municipal Council |
| Preceded By: | Kinta West District Council |
| Jurisdiction: | Batu Gajah |
| Leader1 Type: | President |
| Leader1: | Mohamad Razif Ramli |
| Meeting Place: | Jalan Haji Abdul Wahab, 31000 Batu Gajah, Perak |
| Motto: | Mudah, Cepat, Berkesan Simple, Fast, Effective |
| Former Name: | Kinta West District Council |
Batu Gajah (population 133,422) is the seat of Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia. It is administered by the Batu Gajah District Council (ms|Majlis Daerah Batu Gajah), formerly known as Kinta West District Council (ms|Majlis Daerah Kinta Barat).
The name Batu Gajah in Malay means "elephant rock", it is presumably derived from two large boulders (batu, 'stone') that resembled elephants (gajah, 'elephant') found along the Kinta River. Folklore claims that huge elephant figures were made of stones to scare away the elephants that destroyed the villagers' sugar cane crops.[2]
Famous for its tin mining long before the Independence Day of Malaya,[3] Batu Gajah had been an ideal place for Chinese immigrants to stay and work during those years. This contributes to a significant percentage of Chinese in the population of Batu Gajah today. The Indian Settlement village (the name was changed to Kampung Baru Desa Changkat) at Changkat has a large Indian population of Tamils and also a small minority of Punjabis who built a Sikh temple which becomes the pride of the residents and a landmark in the village today.[4]
Batu Gajah had an established pre-war British English school, which was renamed Sultan Yussuf School (SYS) after the war. The Sultan of Perak DYMM Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-lah is an alumnus of this school. Formerly known as the Government English School (GES), it was founded by Mr. Malai Perumal Pillay in 1907. The school was built from the rubble of an old jail. Over the years, it has produced many successful students.
Batu Gajah since lies on the bank of Sungai Kinta, a little downstream from the major confluence of Sungai Raya. It started out as one of the many villages of mukim Sungai Terap, developed under its titular chief, the Sri Amar DiRaja, the early 19th century.
The attractions here include two golf courses, Kinta Golf Club and Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Course, and nearby pre-independence castle built by a Scottish rubber plantation owner, Sir William Kellie Smith: Kellie's Castle.
There are many hawker stalls and restaurants serving food such as noodles, laksa, and Indian-Muslim mee goreng and mee rebus. Youths spend time at cybercafés and around the local supermarket. In recent years, Western style food franchises opened branches in the town. A supermarket has opened and is in business.
In recent years, Batu Gajah has seen a lot of improvement. In September 2012, Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. Ltd., one of the major electric locomotive manufacturers in China, agreed to build a rolling-stock factory in Batu Gajah.[5]
In 2007, Batu Gajah received a new Batu Gajah railway station. Near Kampung Pisang at the southern end of town, it replaced the old station at Jalan Pusing which is being turned into a museum and then foodstalls.
In addition, the Malaysian railway operator, Keretapi Tanah Melayu, is constructing a new central workshop in the vicinity of Batu Gajah to replace its facility in Sentul. Located near the new railway station, the centre will house repair workshops, training facilities and staff quarters. The center was scheduled for completion in August 2009 at a projected cost of RM 430 million.[6]
A new four-lane highway connects to the Ipoh-Lumut Highway at Seputeh and ties to the North–South Expressway at Gopeng. The highway passes near the new railway station through Bemban at the West side of town.
Some heritage buildings and landmarks in Batu Gajah that are famous throughout Perak: