Section 91: Batu Kikir, Jempol

The plaza was completed in May 2022, giving Batu Kikir a new look and providing residents with more opportunities for recreation and community activities. Source: Sahabat Mohd Zaidy Abdul Kadir https://www.facebook.com/1333610686773785/posts/batu-kikir-jempolbatu-kikir-sebuah-pekan-kecil-di-negeri-sembilan-yang-terketak-/2017948061673374/

Source of Information ~The exhibition text "Za'ba Pemikir Ulung" by the State Museum of Negeri Sembilan ~ Image source from Allahyarham Rahin bin Surip, former Civil Servant of Teratak Za'ba. ~ Photo source from Negeri Sembilan Museum Board

Arrangement: ~Scholar: Shamsudin bin Ahmad ~Director of Negeri Sembilan State Museum: Mr. Asrul Effendi bin Kamaruzzaman ~Assistant Director of Negeri Sembilan State Museum: NurSuaidah binti Rahaman ~Assistant Museum Staff of Negeri Sembilan State Museum

Batu Kikir is a small town between Kuala Pilah and Bahau in Negeri Sembilan. It is about 16 kilometers from Kuala Pilah and about 12 kilometers from Bahau. The town's original name was Simpang Ampat, which was later changed to Batu kikir around the 1930s.

According to the knowledge of some residents, the name "Batu Kikir" is related to a hill of rock near the town. Over the year the hill was excavated and eventually became gravel. After that the town was renamed Batu Kikir. The town is located at the intersection of Kuala Pilah Road to Bahau Road and between Ulu Jempoh and Kuala Jempoh.

Back then, there was only one trail in Batu Kikir. The width of this trail can only accommodate a pedestrian, an ox cart or a horse-drawn cart. In the early 1920s, Haji Ismail was the first to arrive in this town by bicycle when he was a village chief.

At that time, quite a few villagers wanted to know what a bicycle looked like, so they swarmed to the side of the bicycle, excitedly and curiously watching and admiring the bicycle, because this was the first time they saw a bicycle .

There is another legend among the villagers that Mr. Kai Wu was the first person to own a music box. No matter whether Mr. Kai Wu stopped in this town or went to visit everywhere, he always carried with him this music box. If he meets someone who was eager to listen to music, Mr. Kai Wu would charge them a penny to sing along a song with the music box. The villagers at that time were puzzled by the tall music box and felt very strange. They wouldn’t know if there was another person singing along inside this box.

Around the 1920s, there were only a few shops in this town. Among them was Mr. Delaman's Forest Resin Shop, A tea trader, a goldsmith, and several shops selling daily necessities and salt imported from Malacca. At that time, cooking oil and sugar were not sold in this town and there were only five families living around this small town.

Around the 1940s, Batu Kikir gradually saw many shops. Many Chinese businessmen migrated to this small town to do business. Over time, many Chinese also began to live in the inland areas of the Ulu Jempol area, especially the Padang Lebar town and its surrounding areas.

A History of the Rifle and Scimitar War of 1946

There was a wooden mosque in Batu Kikir, it was located near the Muar River. There was a famous iron bridge in the town, It was named as the Persian Bridge (波斯桥). This iron bridge existed as the main transportation link between the town of Kuala Pilah and Bahau. The town of Batu kikir, famous for its iron bridge. The bridge was later upgraded and developed by the local government, and today it is a concrete bridge.

Plaza Batu Kikir 2022 The Negeri State government spent RM800,000 to build a square for Batu Kikir Town. This project was carried out at the original site of the bus station. The government demolished and rebuilt the old station, and around it, built deli stalls, public toilets, and a performance stage for some celebrations and social activities.

The square would be completed in May 2022, which would not just be adding a new look to the town, but will also be bringing greater welfare to the people.

The town of Batu Kikir began as an organized village. It preserves a history that is still unknown. According to historical records, there was a very famous war between the Malay community using machetes and the Bintang Tiga troops using rifles. Although the weapons used by the Bintang Tiga team were better than those of the Malay community at that time, victory still sided the Malay community.

This battle became a piece of history, depicting the fighting spirit of the Bintang Tiga forces when the people made the caves of Simpang Pertang their base camp. The battle was sparked by riots in Padang Lebar near Batu Kikir. In the end, the incident turned into a terrible battle that claimed the lives of many from the Sindica squad. The war took place in November 1946.

We need to study this event because it offers a lesson towards the harmonious life of one race living together with another in the same place.

1988 Historical Events In 1988, one of the largest fires in Batu Kikir involved a row of shops. The incident happened around 11am. The businessmen suffered a lot of damages and losses. After that incident, the original appearance of Batu Kikir town was changed.

The main residents in Batu Kikir were Malays, Chinese and Indians ethnics. Most of them engaged in trading.

In the 1960s and 1970s, there were only two rows of shops in Batu Kikir, one row on the left and one on the right. They were all zinc plate shops back then. It was not until the early 1990s that the purposeful township structure was established.

Now Batu Kikir has a new face. The old town has been demolished and replaced with new stone shops, and a bus stop. The main street has also become wider, and the rows of shops are no longer located on the left and right sides of the main street. They have been moved to a special area away from main roads.

Sahabat Mohd Zaidy Abdul Kadir 资料来源网若 https://www.facebook.com/1333610686773785/posts/batu-kikir-jempolbatu- kikir-sebuah-pekan-kecil-di-negeri-sembilan-yang-terketak-/2017948061673374/

Battle of Millstone 06/11/2015 History Newspaper

November 6, 1945 In 1945, in the Batu Kikir town of Negeri Sembilan, a battle was fought between the villager and the communists. The villagers around Batu Kikir gang up to rescue a religious teacher captured and imprisoned by the Kuala Pilah Communist.

The religious teacher Tuan Haji Yahya was arrested while running a business buying rubber sheets at a shop in town. As the guarding Gurkha soldiers did not try to rescue Haji Yahya, about 300 Kampong Longli, Kampung Depat, Kampung Teng villagers who practiced martial arts at the Longli Mosque 3 kilometers away from Pekan Batu Kikir,left to save the teacher. So a battle broke out between two sides.

On this day in 1945, the battle ended in victory for the villagers. Indeed, it was also a great success of the Malaya people in eradicating the communist activities in Malaya.(Source: National Archives of Malaysia)

Education There are 4 schools in Batu Kikir Town, Batu Kikir National School, Batu Kikir National Secondary School (special type) and Jempol Comprehensive Boarding School. There is also a Chinese school Qi xin Chinese Primary School, but lack of students.

Residential area Residential parks in Batu Kikir include Bungalows, Orchid Garden (Orchid Village), Pearl Garden, Rose Garden, Faithful Park, Jasmine Garden, Sidi Pudi Garden, Mary Garden and Baiduri Garden. Located near Baiduri Gardens is the stone hill, this "crushed stone" has quite a long history. In the beginning, the area was called Senali Village. Around the 1980s, immigrants who worked here as rubber excavators and transporters for palm oil renamed it as “Batur” Village after its leaders name. In 1998, the developer who developed and built houses in this area changed its name to Baiduri Gardens.

Batu Kikir Farmers Market was established on 6 October 1993. Opened every Sunday from 7am to 12pm. The farmers market was located in the middle of Batu Kikir town.

The farmer’s market is not only the focus of local residents, but also attracted many people from around Seremban to buy necessities such as vegetables, river and marine produces, traditional and modern sweets and fruits from the village.

Postscript: The shops on Batu Kikir main road experienced two major fires. It was reported that there were 4 old shops in 1988, and 7 to 8 old shops in 1999 were completely burned down.

In 2021, Negeri Sembilan State Executive Councilor Datuk Samsul Kahar, after opening the very first Bank in Batu Kikir, pointed out that the Negeri State government will develop Batu Kikir Town in stages, so that the town will be able to get on the modern train of development.

In 2022, the construction of Batu Kikir Plaza was completed. YB Teo Kok Seong, a member of the Bahau State Assembly, said that similar basic construction and upgrading works will continue so that both urban and rural areas will achieve balanced and consistent development.