Batu Kawah can also be referred as Batu Kawa, a corrupted form of spelling. The name of Batu Kawah is derived from the Malay words which "Batu" means stone and "Kawah" means crater which refers to a type wok used to cook rice. Oftentimes, people misspell Batu Kawah as Batu Kawa. Kawa has no meaning in the Malay language and is a corrupted spelling. Sources say that Batu Kawah is named with reference to a bunch of wok shape stone beside Batu Kawah River.[2]
Governance
Batu Kawa forms one of the Sarawak state assembly district (Batu Kawah). During the Sarawak state election in 2011, DAP candidate; Christina Chiew Wang See won the seat against BN candidate Tan Joo Phoi. (50.9% vrs 47.2%)[3]
Batu Kawah New Township, affectionately called "MJC" by Kuchingites, is currently the biggest modern garden township development in Batu Kawah which provides the comfort and convenience to work, live, shop and play.
Batu Kawah New Township is a 265-acre integrated self-contained township planned with a whole array of modern facilities and amenities for your comfort. Existing public amenities such as Maybank and RHB Bank, bus and taxi stand, police station, post office, 24-hour security assistance center, town square, The Piazza, Park and Padang and public phone booths provide convenience, recreation and security assistance to all the residents within this township.
Apart from that, other facilities such as a new Wet & Dry Market and a Chinese Primary School, i.e. Chung Hua Sungai Tapang Hilir are now completed.
A reputable hospital group is carrying out the design and planning of a new private hospital.
Other facilities such as a secondary school, clubhouse and commercial complex have been proposed for future development.
Transportation
Batu Kawah area can be reached by two main roads named Jalan Batu Kawah-Tondong (Section of Pan Borneo Highway) and also Jalan Batu Kawah- Matang. Portion of Jalan Batu Kawah-Tondong separated by Sarawak River is linked with Jambatan Datuk Chong Kiun Kong. (Datuk Chong Kiun Kong Bridge), it has been upgraded to dual carriage bridge under RM16 million budget to ease the traffic congestion along Jalan Batu Kawa-Tondong.[4]
Other Utilities
Education
There are 12 small districts inside Batu Kawa area: Batu Kawa (石角)、Stapok (尖山)、Sin San Tu (新山肚)、Moyan (味源港)、Kim Choo Sing (金珠盛)、Luo Zhi Gan (罗知港)、Xia Sha Long（下沙垄）、Sungai Tapang (甲港)、Rantau Panjang (上湾头)、Sejijak (西里益)、Sungai Tengah (葫芦顶) and Pangkalan Baru (新梯头). Because of a population increase in each district, there is a need to establish schools for education. 10 primary Chinese schools have been established among these 12 districts during earlier day and have remained to serve the peoples till present.[2] Besides that, one of the prestigious boarding schools, Sekolah Menengah Sains Kuching is also located in Batu Kawa. There is no public university (tertiary education) campus in Batu Kawa.
