Kepala Batas, Seberang Perai

For the federal constituency represented in the Dewan Rakyat, see Kepala Batas (federal constituency).

For the suburb of Alor Setar, see Kepala Batas, Kedah.

Kepala Batas
Suburb of Seberang Perai and district capital
Other transcription(s)
• Mandarin	甲抛峇底
• Tamil	கெப்பாலா பத்தாஸ்
Kepala Batas Location within    Seberang Perai in    Penang
Coordinates: 5°31′0″N 100°25′0″E
Country	Malaysia
State	Penang
City	Seberang Perai
District	North Seberang Perai
Government
• Local government	Seberang Perai City Council
• Mayor of Seberang Perai	Azhar Arshad
Area
• Total	0.2 km2 (0.08 sq mi)
Population  (2020)
• Total	361
• Density	1,800/km2 (4,700/sq mi)
Demographics
• Ethnic groups	36.3% Chinese 35.7% Bumiputera 35.7% Malay 27.7% Indian 0.3% Non-citizens
Time zone	UTC+8 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed
Postal code	13200
Area code(s)	+6045

Kepala Batas (UK: /ˌkəpɑːlɑː bɑːtɑːs/, Malay: [kəpala batas]) is a suburb of Seberang Perai and the seat of the Northern Seberang Perai District in the Malaysian state of Penang. It lies about 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Butterworth and 15km (9.3 mi) southwest of Sungai Petani.

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 in the past was plagued with poor drainage and frequent flooding. Paddy was one of the few crops able to thrive here and became part of the most important agricultural activities in the area. The abundance of paddy fields thus gave rise to the place's name.

Dykes in a Malaysian paddy field.

Demographics

Ethnicities within Kepala Batas in 2020
Ethnicities / Nationality			Percentage
Chinese			36.3%
Malays			35.7%
Indians			27.7%
Non-Malaysians			0.3%

As of 2020, 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.

Notable people

Politicians & Public Servants

• Tun Dato' Sri Haji Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia (31 October 2003 – 3 April 2009).
• Tun Dato' Seri Utama Haji Abdul Rahman Abbas, 7th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the state of Penang, Malaysia (2001–2021).
• Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, former Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Minister of Finance II.
• Datuk Seri Reezal Merican bin Naina Merican, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (29 July 2015 - 9 May 2018), Minister of Youth and Sports (10 March 2020 - 16 August 2021), Minister of Housing and Local Government (30 August 2021 - 24 November 2022), Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the seat of Kepala Batas (2013-2022) in the state of Penang and Member of the Penang State Legislative Assembly for the seat of Bertam (since 2023).
• The Honourable Datuk Siti Mariah binti Haji Ahmad, current High Court Judge of Kuala Lumpur. She was also appointed as Judicial Commissioner on 1 May 2003.