Gurudwara Sahib Batu Pahat, Johor

The earliest Sikhs in Batu Pahat were mainly attached to the Police Force. A few Sikh families were involved in farming and cattle rearing. In the early 1900's, these Sikhs rented a shop house in Simpang Rantai and renovated the premises to be used as a Gurdwara Sahib. In 1933, this Gurdwara Sahib was relocated to its present site in Jalan Zabedah. Due to the efforts of Sardar Mehar Singh, the land and houses situated therein were purchased from the previous owners. Most of the Sikh police personnel donated a month's salary while the Sikh sangat also donated generously. The building was renovated and converted into the Gurdwara. At this time, the Gurdwara Sahib was placed under the trusteeship of five Sikhs i.e. Sardar Mehar Singh, Sardar Bhag Singh Havildar, Sardar Kishen Singh, Sardar Karam Singh and Sardar Ujagar Singh. To serve the needs of the ever-growing Sikh community in Batu Pahat, the management committee under the Presidency of Dr Jaswant Singh SachDev, decided to build a new Gurdwara building in 1985. The foundation stone of the new building was laid by the Panj Piyarae on 28th January 1987. The Government donated RM$100,000.00 towards the cost of the new building and the balance was donated by the Sikh sangat. The Total cost of the new building came to nearly RM$500,000.00. The new Gurdwara Sahib was officially declared open by Sant Baba Bhajan Singh Ji on 13th October 1988. The first floor of the Gurdwara Sahib building comprises of the Darbar Sahib while the front portion of the ground floor is used as a langgar hall. The back portion consists of the kitchen for the Guru Ka Langgar, the Granthi's quarters as well as one room for Sikh visitors. The Gurdwara Sahib management committee consists of the President, Secretary, Treasurer and their assistants as well as five committee members. The Gurdwara Sahib Batu Pahat is now placed under the trusteeship of three appointed Sikhs. The current trustees are Sardar Chanan Singh, Sardar Kundan Singh and Sardar Pritam Singh Brar. There are presently about 60 Sikh families in and around Batu Pahat who participate in the religious activities in this Gurdwara Sahib. The normal weekly prayers are held on every Sunday morning from 10.00am to 11.00am. Other religious programmes are held as and when required at the request of the Sikh sangat Courtesy: Sikh Gurudwaras in Malaysia&Singapore Saran Singh Sidhu AMN,PNM,FRNS