Administration
Main article: Mukim-mukim in Batu Pahat See also: Majlis Perbandaran Batu PahatBatu Pahat is administered by Majlis Perbandaran Batu Pahat (MPBP) or the Batu Pahat Municipal Council which was upgraded from the previous Majlis Daerah Batu Pahat Barat (MDBPB) or the West Batu Pahat District Council.
Batu Pahat district has 525 gazetted villages (kampung-kampung) and village-clusters (kampung rangkaian) where smaller villages were annexed to their bigger immediate neighbours for the purpose of administration. The villages are represented by their village heads (ketua-ketua kampung) who answer to the subdistrict chief (Penghulu) administering the Mukim. The Mukim itself however is under the jurisdiction of the Pegawai Daerah or District Officer. The district office of Batu Pahat also has five district engineers (Jurutera Daerah) to oversee all the subdistricts.
Growth in small and medium industries such as textiles, garments and electronics helped to boost development, and Batu Pahat was upgraded to town status (Majlis Perbandaran) in 2001, alongside Muar, Kluang and Skudai.
As of 2008, the government does not have any plans to upgrade Batu Pahat to city status (Majlis Bandaraya) yet, although the development of Batu Pahat has surpassed Alor Star and Kuala Terengganu, which have both already achieved city status.
Read more about this topic: Batu Pahat (town)