Johor Bahru

Johor Bahru, also spelled Johor Baru or Johore Bahru and near-universally abbreviated as JB, is the city and the capital of Johor in southern Malaysia. It is the second largest city in the country, after the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. With a population of approximately 500,000 in the city, 1.73 million in the metropolitan area and 5.33 million in the Singapore-Johor Bahru conurbation (^*), the city is an important industrial, tourism and commercial hub for southern Malaysia and is part of one of Southeast Asia's most populous urban areas. The population growth rate of Johor Bahru is also among the highest in Malaysia. Tourism is a significant contributor to the city's economy, as it receives 60% of the country's annual 16 million foreign tourists via its bridges and road links to Singapore. However, Johor Bahru's highly developed industrial base has made the city one of the biggest industrial centres of the country.

Johor Bahru enjoys the unique distinction of being the southernmost city of the Asian mainland.

Geography

The city of Johor Bahru is located at . The city council administers the highly developed southern central coast of the metropolitan area, with a total area of 185 km². It is situated on the Straits of Johor (also known as the Straits of Tebrau), which separates Malaysia and Singapore. Metropolitan Johor Bahru occupies extensive coastal land consisting of ecologically rich swamp lands and important river systems such as Sungai Johor, Sungai Pulai and Sungai Tebrau.

History

Johor Bahru was founded in 1855 by Temenggung Daeng Ibrahim, the father of Sultan Abu Bakar, one of the best-remembered of all Malay Sultans. The town was originally named Tanjung Puteri, and it had its beginnings as a small Malay fishing village. Sultan Abu Bakar changed the name to Johor Bahru when he proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom in 1866, after he moved the seat of government from the old capital at Teluk Belanga in Singapore.

Sultan Abu Bakar was descended from Temenggong Abdul Rahman, the local chief who signed the initial treaty with the British when they sought permission to lease Singapore island in 1819. Much of the prosperity Johor enjoys today can be traced directly to Sultan Abu Bakar's success in persuading British and Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in agricultural estates in the area. Sultan Abu Bakar took a great interest in planning and laying out his royal city of Johor Bahru; consequently, many buildings and places in the city today bear his name and marks. For example, the Royal Abu Bakar Museum,Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque and Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar, which is also the oldest school in Johor are named after him.

Johor Bahru has witnessed a few major Malaysian historical events such as the establishment of the leading political party in Malaysia, UMNO (United Malays National Organisation), in 1946. Since the independence of Malaysia, Johor Bahru has witnessed massive development under the Malaysian government.

On 1 January 1994, Johor Bahru was officially granted city status and Dato Hashim Yahya became the first mayor (Datuk Bandar). The City Square was constructed to commemorate this event.

Pasir Pelangi, the 'royal town' is located within Johor Bahru.

Government

The metropolian area of Johor Bahru is divided and jointly managed by the following local councils across several districts:

Johor Bahru District:

Johor Bahru City Council (Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru)
Johor Bahru Tengah Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Johor Bahru Tengah)
Kulai Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Kulai)
Local Authority of Bandar Tenggara (Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan Bandar Tenggara)
Local Authority of Pasir Gudang (Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan Pasir Gudang)

Pontian District:

District Council of Pontian (Majlis Daerah Pontian)

Kota Tinggi District:

District Council of Kota Tinggi (Majlis Daerah Kota Tinggi)

In announcing the 9th Malaysia Plan in May 2006, the area has been identified as a focus development area of national priority, which will see government investment of over RM12 billion (Ringgit) between 2006 and 2010.

Demographics

The District of Johor Bahru's population is 1056000 (2000 census) with current population in 2006 to be in the region of 1.5 million. It consists of 45% Malay, 41.5% Chinese, 9.1% Indian and 4.4% of other minorities. ^*

Among the Chinese, the Teochew, Hakka, Hokkien, Cantonese and Hainanese are the five major dialect groups in Johor Bahru. A small, significant minority of Hokchew/Foochow does exist. Due to the influence of the Singaporean mass media and the government policy of using Mandarin in all schools, the majority of the younger generation Chinese speak Mandarin and English at home.

The Teochews had a long standing history as they had established themselves in gambier plantations under the direction of Tan Hiok Nee, who developed the Kangchu system in consultation with the Sultan. He received the sultan's blessings for the plantation owners to develop their business in the systematic method. Many more Teochews migrated to Johor Bahru later, and settled there.

The Hakkas later migrated to Johor Bahru in large numbers, and also formed a large community among the Chinese in Johor Bahru. The Cantonese, under the leadership of Wong Ah Fook, began settling in Johor Bahru in the wake of the Kangchu system pioneered by Tan Hiok Nee from the 19th century onwards.

Economy

As one of the three main urban centres on the peninsular Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Penang being the other two), Johor Bahru is an important industrial, logistical and commercial centre. Its major industries include electronics, resource and petrochemical refinery and ship-building.

Johor Bahru is often thought of as Singapore's hinterland, similar to what Shenzhen is to Hong Kong. The presence of Singapore-owned companies and tourists are significant. Johor Bahru's many shopping complexes cater to tourists from Singapore who visit the city for shopping and entertainment, taking advantage of the stronger Singapore dollar. As such, Johor Bahru's retail scene is highly developed for a city of its size. The main shopping districts are located within Johor Bahru city, with a number of large shopping malls located in the suburbs.

The heavy industrial areas are Pasir Gudang and Tanjung Langsat, located east of the metropolitan area. They contain clusters of refineries, chemical processing plants, and ship-building factories. Light to medium industrial areas are mainly located north and north-west of the metropolitan area in Tebrau, Tampoi, Senai, Skudai and Kulai.

Johor Bahru enjoys close economic relationship with Singapore. A large number of residents in Johor Bahru work in Singapore due to its higher pay, partially because of the stronger Singapore Dollar (currency exchange rate as of 2005 is one Singapore Dollar to more than two Malaysian Ringgit). For the same reason, many Singaporeans visit Johor Bahru for shopping, entertainment and dining.

Infrastructure

Internal Network

Johor Bahru Central Business District (CBD) or Daerah Sentral Johor Bahru, is located on the southern tip of the metropolitan area. Two major highways link the CBD to outlying suburbs, with Tebrau Highway linking the city to the north-east and Tun Abdul Razak (TAR) Highway/Senai-Skudai Highway linking it to the north-west. Pasir Gudang Highway and the connecting Johor Bahru Parkway crosses Tebrau Highway and TAR Highway about midway and serves as the middle ring road of the metropolitan area.

Additionally, the Johor Bahru Inner Ring Road aids in controlling the traffic in and around the CBD.

Intercity Network

Access to the national expressway system is possible via the North-South Expressway, with entry-exit points located strategically within the metropolitan area.

The Causeway links the city to the Singapore with a six-lane road and a railway line. The Second Link Expressway located west of the metropolitan area was constructed in 1997 to help alleviate the congested Causeway. It is linked directly to Johor Bahru Parkway and North-South Expressway.

Airport and Seaports

Johor Bahru is well served with strong connectivity to regional and international centres.

Senai International Airport, located north-west of the metropolitan area, serves regional and national airlines. It is one of the two national hubs of AirAsia, Asia's largest budget airline.

The Port of Tanjung Pelepas, located west of the metropolitan area in the new area of Nusajaya, is Malaysia's biggest transhipment hub.

Johor Port, otherwise known as the Pasir Gudang Port, is located on the eastern side of the metropolitan area in the industrial area of Pasir Gudang. It is the country's most important commodity and mineral resources seaports as Johor is home to a large number of major commercial plantations and Pasir Gudang is home to majority of Malaysia resources refineries.

Singapore's world-renowned seaports and airport also caters to Johor Bahru's transportation/logistics need, as they are both less than an hour's drive from the city.

Radio Stations

Johor Bahru is also home to three radio stations. Best 104 is the country's first private radio station, Johor FM is a government-owned regional station, and FMJB, is another government-owned station covering only the city.

Urban Renewal

A number of urban renewal projects in the city centre with the aim of making the city centre more pedestrian friendly has recently been completed.

It includes:

Pedestrianisation of Jalan Meldrum by narrowing the two-way street into a single-lane street with the accompanying pedestrian mall with outdoor cafe kiosk.
Pedestrianisation of the area around OCBC Bank and the City Council building.
The construction of Legaran Segget, or Segget Walk.
The construction of Laman Tun Sri Lanang, a small park in the heart of the city.

Johor Bahru landmarks (businesses, buildings, places of worship, etc.)
Johor Bahru Inner Ring Road
Daerah Sentral Johor Bahru
Johor Causeway
Malaysia-Singapore Second Link
Southern Integrated Gateway

External links

Johor Bahru Best Directory

Cities in Malaysia | Johor Bahru | 1855 establishments

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