page_title: Batu Pahat (town)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Batu Pahat (town) / History
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Batu Pahat (Stadt)
context_page_description: Batu Pahat is a town and capital of Batu Pahat District, Johor, Malaysia. It lies south-east of Muar, south-west of Kluang, north-west of Pontian and south of Segamat. The town area is located inside Simpang Kanan parishes.
  As of 2009, Batu Pahat town is the 20th largest urban area in Malaysia in terms of population. In 2006, Batu Pahat surpassed Muar to become the second largest urban area in Johor and by 2012, Batu Pahat is the 16th largest urban area in Malaysia in terms of population. As for the racial demography, Chinese make up the majority of the population at 62% followed by the Malay at 36% and Indians at 2%. Today, a significant number of Batu Pahat residents are Chinese.
context_section_description: Batu Pahat originally was a remote residential areas for the royalties and the mayor of the villages. There was already a successful township nearby, Bandar Maharani that was established in 1885 by Dato' Muhamad Salleh bin Perang or popularly known as Dato' Bentara Luar. It was until in the year 1892, the local mayors (Penghulu) such as Penghulu Rahmat bin Ragam (Simpang Kanan) dan Penghulu Kitam bin Mohd. Shah (Simpang Kiri) requested audience with Sultan Abu Bakar to develop a township in Batu Pahat. They believe that Dato' Bentara Luar will once more duplicate the success of Muar known by other name, Bandar Maharani into new up and coming township. On 4 November 1892, Sultan Abu Bakar orders Dato' Bentara Luar who was then living in Kampung Senangar to come over to Johor Bahru palaces to seek for an audiences related to new township development matters.
  The next month, Dato' Bentara Luar started on the Batu Pahat township development. He chooses the development places in Simpang Kanan parishes which are about 15 km away from Batu Pahat river bay. The locations is strategic as the river's berth are wide enough to let the ship passing thru as well as the construction of docks will facilitate the trading in that areas. On 2 December 1892, the fakir already starts to survey the land from Mount Penggaram to the Penggaram river for the township planning purposes. Within the next year, he succeeded in building up roads, offices, courts, hospital, police stations and also homes around that area. The development is sustained by the finances support by Orang Kaya Bagan, taxes from local populaces and as well as the personal wealth of the Dato' Bentara Luar himself.
  On 1 January 1894, Dato' Bentara Luar officiates the Batu Pahat opening ceremony in Bukit Bendera which are now the official residency of the Batu Pahat town administrator. In Dec. 1894, another events held to commemorates the naming of Batu Pahat into Bandar Penggaram which had taken names from Kampung Penggaram where the Penghulu Rahmat resides.
  During his reign as the Government Commissioner, Dato' Bentara Luar modernises the administrative duties by appointing the administrative officers to do their duties. He also encourage the villagers to plant crops for self-sufficiency and pulls in investment from Chinese businessman to set up plantations or set up trading in Batu Pahat. This led to increases in the town council income from RM1,500 in 1894 to RM55,375 in 1910.
caption: Satellite view of Batu Pahat
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