Ayer Keroh

Ayer Keroh
Town and district capital
Ayer Keroh Town Bandar Ayer Keroh
Telekom Malaysia MITC Tower
Ayer Keroh Show map of Malacca Ayer Keroh Show map of Peninsular Malaysia
Coordinates: 2°16′N102°17′E / 2.267°N 102.283°E / 2.267; 102.283
Country	Malaysia
State	Malacca
District	Melaka Tengah
Postal code	75450

Ayer Keroh (also written as Air Keroh, translated as murky water) is a suburb of Hang Tuah Jaya in the Malaysian state of Malacca. ^[1] Formerly part of a virgin forest with a quiet village, it was established by the state government in the late 1960s as a satellite town of Malacca City (then Malacca Town) with housing, industrial and recreational areas, to solve the housing issues of Malacca Town and to curb the state's brain drain phenomenon. ^[2]

This town constitutes the upper halves of Bukit Katil and Bukit Baru suburbs in Melaka Tengah District. It is the seat of the state government since 2006, being the home of the state secretariat building complex – Seri Negeri complex. It is also home to the country's oldest artificial lake, originally built as a water reservoir during the British colonial era. In 2010, Ayer Keroh along with few neighbouring towns of Batu Berendam, Bemban and Durian Tunggal formed the Hang Tuah Jaya municipality. ^[3]

Economy

Ayer Keroh houses two main industrial areas: the Ayer Keroh Industrial Area (State-owned), which includes the Mamee Double-Decker headquarters and manufacturing plant and Taman Tasik Utama Industrial Area (Private). ^{[4] [5]}

Education

Image	Name	Description
	Multimedia University (MMU) Malacca campus	Multimedia University, established in 1996, is the first private university approved by the Government of Malaysia. The Malacca Campus houses the Centre for Foundation Studies and Extension Education and three Faculties: Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Faculty of Information Science and Technology and Faculty of Business and Law. [6]
	Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) Technology Campus	The campus is located at Taman Tasik Utama Industrial area. It houses all temporary faculties (except for Faculty of Electrical Engineering; FKE and also Faculty of Electronic and Computer Engineering, FKEKK which is based at its permanent campus at Durian Tunggal, Malacca), and also the chancellory office.
	Kolej Yayasan Saad	An institution consists of a fully residential school and an International school which specialises in teaching Cambridge A Levels curriculum. [7] [8]
	Ayer Keroh National High School (Malay : Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ayer Keroh)	National Secondary School.

Politics

Image	Name	Description
	Seri Negeri complex	State administrative building complex which houses the State Assembly, as well as minister offices and State Governor Residence.

Public health

Image	Name	Description
	Pantai Hospital Ayer Keroh	Established in 1986 and moved to its current location in August 1995, this private hospital offering wide range of medical services and facilities to the town's residents. [9]

Sports and recreation

Image	Name	Description
	Ayer Keroh Lake [10]	The oldest man-made lake in Malaysia constructed in the 1890s by the British to supply water to the inhabitants of the Malacca Settlement. Today, it is mostly used for water recreational activities.
	Ayer Keroh Square	A town square in completed in 1999. It has a 16-metre tall Flag Pole Clock Tower at its west end and a performance stage at its south end and can accommodate 15,000 people. [11]
	Ayer Keroh Golf and Country Club	The main golf resort of Ayer Keroh managed by Ayer Keroh Golf Resort Berhad and opened by then-Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman on 5 February 1966. [12] It was the brain child of Abdul Ghafar Baba, then Chief Minister of Malacca, who himself is also a golf enthusiast. [13] The golf course initially consisted of 18 holes or two nines referred to as Tunku's Nine (1st nine) and Ghafar’s Nine (2nd nine). Another nine Governor’s Nine was added in the mid-1990s, making a total number of 27 holes on the golf course at present. [14]

Tourist attractions

Ayer Keroh Gateway Arch.

Garden of Thousand Flowers.

Malacca Craft Centre.

Prison Product Gallery.

The suspension bridge at Malacca Botanical Garden.

The town is a major tourist spot of the state, apart from the old Malacca City, due to its recent hosting of various interesting attractions. List of tourist attractions here are:

• Aborigines Museum - A museum which showcases the native people relics found in the country. ^{[15] [16]}
• Ayer Keroh Overhead Bridge Restaurant (Malay : Restoran Jejantas Ayer Keroh) - A bridge restaurant built over the North–South expressway. Tenants include A&W Restaurants, KFC and Malay cuisine stalls.
• Ayer Keroh Gateway Arch (Malay : Pintu Gerbang Ayer Keroh) - A landmark arch located on Lebuh Ayer Keroh to mark the district border of Melaka Tengah and Alor Gajah. Three towers on both sides of the arch represent the three major races in Malaysia: Malay, Chinese and Indian. ^[17]
• Garden of Thousand Flowers (Malay : Taman Seribu Bunga) - A park under the management of Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council, ^{[18] [19]} it was officiated by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on 30 June 2007 and spans over an area of 5.3 hectares. This park is located just next to the Seri Negeri Complex.
• Malacca Bee Gallery - A bee gallery which showcases around 250 type specimens of bee hives and hornet nests. ^[20]
• Malacca Bird Park - The largest bird park in Asia, with a total area of 2.02 hectares. ^[21]
• Malacca Botanical Garden - This garden was established in April 1984 as Ayer Keroh Recreational Forest, ^[22] and got its present name on 1 June 2006. ^{[23] [24]}
• Malacca Craft Complex (Malay : Kompleks Kraf Melaka) - A One-Stop Craft Centre in operation since October 2013. It has an in-house Craft Gallery that brings together various local craft products from all over Malaysia. ^{[25] [26]}
• Malacca Zoo - A 54-acre (22 ha) zoological park located beside Lebuh Ayer Keroh, which hosts more than 1200 animals of 215 species of birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals. It is the second-largest zoo in Malaysia behind the National Zoo of Malaysia, both were established in 1963. ^[27]
• Melaka Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary - A 11-hectare wide private zoo which mainly exhibits butterflies and reptiles, but also hosts other animal species such as amphibians, birds, fishes and insects. ^[28]
• Melaka Crocodile Farm - The largest crocodile farm in Malaysia, with an area of 3.5 hectares. Though mainly exhibits crocodiles, it also hosts other reptile species such as snakes, tortoise, turtles and terrapins, and animal species such as birds and mammals. ^[29]
• Melaka International Trade Centre - A meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions (MICE) convention centre which includes a 13,090 square metres wide exhibition hall. It was officially launched in June 2003 by Mohammad Ali bin Rustam, the former Chief Minister of Malacca. ^{[30] [31]}
• Melaka Planetarium - The second planetarium in the state after the Al-Khawarizmi Astronomy Complex in Masjid Tanah. ^{[32] [33]}
• Melaka Wonderland - A 9.2 hectare water theme park and resort which featured 16 attractions, ^[34] it was constructed with a cost of RM80 million and was opened to the public on 15 May 2010. ^[35]
• Prison Product Gallery (Malay : Galeri Produk Penjara) - A prison products gallery that displays and sells handicraft products crafted by prisoners from all over Malaysia. It is located at the Ministry of Home Affairs' complex. ^{[36] [37]}
• Malaysia Heritage Studios - A cultural theme park which is divided into two sections: the Mini Malaysia section, which the traditional houses from every state in Malaysia and the Mini ASEAN section, which showcases the traditional houses from every member countries of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). ^[38]

Transportation

The Ayer Keroh toll is the main entry point into Malacca state using the North South Expressway. This makes it easily accessible from any part of Peninsular Malaysia. The town is about 2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur and one hour from Seremban. Ayer Keroh is also about 3 hours drive from Singapore. Lebuh Ayer Keroh (Federal Route 143), the town's main dual-carriageway highway, connects state capital Malacca City to the North–South Expressway via Ayer Keroh Interchange.

Gallery

• 
  Ayer Keroh Highway
• 
  Taman Tasik Utama Industrial Area

References

1. "$30 juta untok "Satellite Town" Melaka". 25 November 1968.
2. "Malacca to have own Petaling Jaya". 11 May 1962.
3. "Ayer Keroh in Malacca". malacca.ws.
4. "Official Portal of Majlis Perbandaran Hang Tuah Jaya - Ayer Keroh Industrial Area". Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
5. "Official Portal of Majlis Perbandaran Hang Tuah Jaya - Taman Tasik Utama Industrial Area". Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
6. "Multimedia University".
7. "KYS International School".
8. "Kolej Yayasan Saad's website".
9. "Pantai Malaysia > Our Hospitals > Pantai Hospital Ayer Keroh". pantai.com.my. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015.
10. "Air Keroh Lake". goMelaka. 3 July 2013.
11. "RM1.5 juta naik taraf Dataran Sejarah Ayer Keroh" (in Malay). Utusan Online. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
12. "Tengku Abdul Rahman di-iringi oleh Gabnor Melaka, Tun Haji Abdui Maiek bin Yusol (kiri sekali) menuju tempat pemukul yang pertama sa-jurus sa-belum ia membuka lapangan goif Ayer Keroh Country Club yang mempunyai 18 lubang di-Melaka pada hari Sabtu". Berita Harian (Singapore). 5 February 1966.
13. "Ayer Keroh Country Club One of the best links". The Straits Times. 5 February 1966.
14. "Ayer Keroh Golf and Country Club website".
15. Ephern. "Museum of Aborigines". Amazing Melaka. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
16. "10 Best Things to Do in Ayer Keroh". Malacca. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
17. "Pintu Gerbang Ayer Keroh". pingje.org.
18. "Garden of Thousand Flowers". AmazingMelaka.com. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015.
19. "Portal Rasmi Majlis Perbandaran Hang Tuah Jaya - Taman Seribu Bunga". Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
20. "Muzium Lebah Sedunia" [World Bee Museum]. Majlis Perbandaran Hang Tuah Jaya (in Malay). Retrieved 20 August 2021.
21. "Malacca Bird Park launches Dinosaur Club, new attractions". Malay Mail. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
22. "10 Best Things to Do in Ayer Keroh". Malacca. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
23. "Melaka Botanical Garden". AmazingMelaka.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
24. "Jabatan Perhutanan Negeri Melaka – JPNM".
25. "Kompleks Kraf Melaka". Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation.
26. "Melaka Craft Complex". Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation.
27. Zoo Melaka info at Cuti.com. – Malacca Zoo Retrieved on 10 August 2008.
28. "Melaka Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary Website".
29. "Ayer Keroh Crocodile Farm In Malaysia Tourism Info - MalaysiaHere.com". malaysiahere.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019.
30. "Introduction". mitc.org.my. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012.
31. "Exhibition Hall". mitc.org.my. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016.
32. "Melaka Planetarium Adventure Science Centre". Malacca. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
33. "Official Portal of Majlis Perbandaran Hang Tuah Jaya - Planetarium Melaka". Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
34. "Melaka Wonderland Official website".
35. Mulup, Amran (30 April 2010). "Taman Wonderland dibuka 15 Mei". Utusan Online. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
36. "Galeri Produk Penjara".
37. "Galeri Produk Penjara Melaka" . Retrieved 23 February 2023.
38. "Mini Malaysia & Mini Asean Cultural Village". AmazingMelaka.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015.