Balakong
Balakong is a township in Cheras, Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Located to the southeast of Greater Kuala Lumpur, the township consists mainly of residential condominiums, office complexes and factories. Notable landmarks in Balakong include AEON Mall Cheras Selatan and Sin Ann Meow Temple.
History
Name
According to local Chinese residents, the name Balakong comes from the Chinese New Village, Balakong Chinese New Village. The village was drawn up and barred-wired by the British Empire under the Briggs Plan during the Malayan Emergency. Another belief is that there was a river running through the village named Sungai Balak and that the village adopted the river's name. It is believed that "-Kong" in Balakong comes from the Hakka word for river, and Balakong refers to the Hakka pronunciation of the river, Sungai Balak. It is believed that there was an upper and lower kong within the village.Before 1990s
The village was surrounded by rubber plantation surrounding former tin mines. Most families in the village were rubber tappers. There was a primary school, a few Chinese temples, a wet market, a hilltop Lutheran church, a cowboy town street, a town hall, and a football field. The village was divided by Sungai Balak.After 1990s
During Taming Jaya's development, locals mentioned that the developer of Taming Jaya rebuilt Balakong Road into a two-lane highway starting at The Mines and terminated at Cheras 11th Mile. A newer road was constructed that connected the village to Taman Connaught. Taming Jaya's developer also had developed a small-industry area and housing estate on a rubber plantation opposite the village. Since the early 2010's, Balakong has seen rapid commercial development in the form of Dataran C180 and Cheras Traders Square.Education
List of schools in Balakong
Primary Schools
Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan BalakongSekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Batu 11 Cheras
Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Connaught 2
Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar Tun Hussein Onn
Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar Tun Hussein Onn 2
Sekolah Kebangsaan Cheras Jaya
Sekolah Kebangsaan Desa Baiduri
Sekolah Kebangsaan Taming Jaya
Secondary Schools
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandar Damai PerdanaSekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandar Tun Hussein Onn 2
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Cheras Jaya
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Cheras Perdana
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Perimbun
Politics
Balakong, at the federal level, is part of the Bangi parliamentary constituency. Bangi has been represented in the Dewan Rakyat of the Parliament by Syahredzan Johan of Pakatan Harapan and the Democratic Action Party since 2022. Syahredzan won the seat and was elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2022 general election.At the state level, Balakong is the Balakong state constituency. Balakong has been represented in the Selangor State Legislative Assembly by Wayne Ong Chun Wei, also of PH and DAP since 2023. Ong won the seat and was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the 2023 Selangor state election.
At the local level, Balakong is administered by the Kajang Municipal Council.