Johor Bahru (federal Constituency)
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Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...
. It is the
core city In urban planning, a historic core city or central city is the municipality with the largest 1940 population in the present metropolitan area (metropolitan statistical area). This term was retired by the US census bureau and replaced by the term ...
of
Johor Bahru District The Johor Bahru District is a Districts of Malaysia, district located in the southern part of Johor, Malaysia. It covers an area of 1,063.97km2 and has a population of 1.8 million, making it the second largest district in Malaysia by populatio ...
, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of 391.25 km2, Johor Bahru had a population of 858,118 people as of 2020, making it the nation's largest state capital city by population. It is located at the southern end of the
Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the list of isla ...
, adjacent to the city-state of
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. Johor Bahru is the financial and business centre of southern Malaysia. It is the second best-performing city in the country behind the capital,
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
, in terms of economic competitiveness and prosperity, and ease of doing business, according to
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
. It also has the fastest
urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also ...
growth and
internet speed In computing, bandwidth is the maximum rate of data transfer across a given path. Bandwidth may be characterized as network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth. This definition of ''bandwidth'' is in contrast to the field of signal ...
among cities in Malaysia. Connecting with Singapore, Johor Bahru has the world's busiest international border crossing, primarily via the Johor-Singapore Causeway, KTM Shuttle Tebrau and the future RTS Link. Johor Bahru is served by
Senai International Airport Senai International Airport , formerly known as Sultan Ismail International Airport, is an international airport serving Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second most populous district and other regions in southern Peninsular Malaysia. Located i ...
and the 15th-busiest port in the world, Tanjung Pelepas. During the reign of
Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
Abu Bakar between 1886 and 1895, the city witnessed modernisation from a fishing village, with the construction of administrative centres, offices, schools, civic and religious buildings, and railways to Woodlands, Singapore. Japanese forces occupied Johor Bahru from 1942 to 1945 during the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
. Johor Bahru thus became the post-war cradle of Malay nationalism, and a major political party, UMNO was founded at the Istana Besar in 1946. Johor Bahru was granted city status in 1994. It is currently the core region of
Iskandar Malaysia Iskandar Malaysia (formerly known as Iskandar Development Region and South Johor Economic Region), is the main southern development corridor in Johor, Malaysia. It was established on 8 November 2006. Iskandar Malaysia is currently the largest ...
, the nation's largest
special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
, by investment value.


Etymology

The present area of Johor Bahru was originally known as ''Tanjung Puteri'', and was a fishing village of the Malays. Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim then renamed ''Tanjung Puteri'' to ''Iskandar Puteri'' upon his arrival to the area in 1858, after acquiring the territory from Sultan Ali. It was renamed to Johor Bahru by Sultan Abu Bakar following the Temenggong's death. The word "Bah(a)ru" means "new" in Malay; thus, Johor Bahru means "New Johor". ''Bahru'' is normally written as "baru" in English ( Roman) characters, today, although the word appears in other place names with several English spelling variants, such as in
Kota Bharu Kota Bharu ( Kelantanese: ''Koto Baghu''), colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mout ...
, Kelantan, and
Pekanbaru Pekanbaru is the capital city of the Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern side of Sumatra, Sumatra Island with its name derived from the Malay language, Malay (Indonesian language, Indonesian) word for 'new mar ...
,
Riau Riau (Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Barisan Mountains to the Malacca Strait, including s ...
(
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
). The
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
preferred to write it as ''Johore Bahru'' or ''Johore Bharu'', though the currently-accepted western spelling is ''Johor Bahru''—''Johore'' is only spelt ''Johor,'' without the letter "e" at the end of the word, in the
Malay language Malay ( , ; , Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by Malays (ethnic group), Malays in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula on the mainland Asia. The lang ...
. The city's name is also spelt as Johor Baru or Johor Baharu. Johor Bahru was once known as ''Shantou'', or "Little Swatow", by the city's Chinese community, as most of the Chinese residents are Teochew whose ancestry can be traced back to
Shantou Shantou, Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 20 ...
, China; they arrived in the mid-19th century, during the reign of Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim. The city, however, is generally known in Chinese as ''Xinshan'', meaning "New Mountain" ( zh , c=新山, p= Xīnshān), as "mountain" may be used to mean "territory" or "land". The name "New Mountain" distinguished it from "Old Mountain" (''Jiushan''), once used to refer to Kranji and
Sembawang Sembawang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential town located in the North Region, Singapore, North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to t ...
(in Singapore), where the Chinese first cultivated
black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...
and gambier on plantations before relocating to new lands in Johor Bahru in 1855.


History

Due to a dispute between the Malays and the
Bugis The Bugis people, also known as Buginese, are an Austronesian ethnic groupthe most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassarese and Torajan), in the south-western province of Sula ...
, the Johor-Riau Sultanate was split in 1819 with the mainland portion of the
Johor Sultanate The Johor Sultanate ( or ; also called the Sultanate of Johor, Johor-Pahang-Riau-Lingga, or the Johor Empire) was founded by Sultan of Malacca Mahmud Shah of Malacca, Mahmud Shah's son, Alauddin Riayat Shah II of Johor, Alauddin Riayat Shah ...
coming under the control of
Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim Temenggong Tun Daeng Ibrahim bin Almarhum Temenggong Tun Daeng Abdul Rahman (8 December 1810 – 31 January 1862) was the Temenggong of Johor from 1841 to 1862. After he and Sultan Ali Iskandar Shah signed the 1855 treaty with the British G ...
while the Riau-Lingga Sultanate came under the control of the Bugis. The Temenggong intended to create a new administration centre for the Johor Sultanate to create a dynasty under the entity of Temenggong. As the Temenggong already had a close relationship with the British and the British intended to have control over trade activities in Singapore, a treaty was signed between Sultan Ali and Temenggong Ibrahim in Singapore on 10 March 1855. According to the treaty, Ali would be crowned as the Sultan of Johor and receive $5,000 (in
Spanish dollar The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight (, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content fine silver. It w ...
s) with an allowance of $500 per month. In return, Ali was required to cede the sovereignty of the territory of Johor (except Kesang of Muar which would be the only territory under his control) to Temenggong Ibrahim. When both sides agreed on Temenggong acquiring the territory, he renamed it ''Iskandar Puteri'' and began to administer it from
Telok Blangah Telok Blangah ( , , ) is a subzone region and housing estate located in the area behind Keppel Harbour in Bukit Merah, Singapore. Telok Blangah is represented by three contiguous subzones of Bukit Merah in Urban Redevelopment Authority, URA maste ...
in Singapore. As the area was still an undeveloped jungle, Temenggong encouraged the migration of Chinese and Javanese to clear the land and to develop an agricultural economy in Johor. The Chinese planted the area with
black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...
and gambier, while the Javanese dug ''parit'' (
canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
s) to drain water from the land, build roads and plant
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
s. During this time, a Chinese businessman, pepper and gambier cultivator, Wong Ah Fook arrived; at the same time, the ''Kangchu'' and Javanese labour contract systems were introduced by the Chinese and Javanese communities. After Temenggong's death on 31 January 1862, the town was renamed "Johor Bahru" and his position was succeeded by his son, Abu Bakar, with the administration centre in Telok Blangah being moved to the area in 1889.


British administration

In the first phase of Abu Bakar's administration, the British only recognised him as a ''
maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...
'' rather than a ''
sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
''. In 1855, the British Colonial Office began to recognise his status as a Sultan after he met
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
. He managed to regain Kesang territory for Johor after a civil war with the aid of British forces and he boosted the town's infrastructure and agricultural economy. Infrastructure such as the State Mosque and Royal Palace was built with the aid of Wong Ah Fook, who had become a close patron for the Sultan since his migration during the Temenggong reign. As the Johor-British relationship improved, Abu Bakar also set up his administration under a British style and implemented a constitution known as '' Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri Johor'' (Johor State Constitution). Although the British had long been advisers for the Sultanate of Johor, the Sultanate never came under direct colonial rule of the British. The direct colonial rule only came into effect when the status of the adviser was elevated to a status similar to that of a Resident in the
Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...
(FMS) during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim in 1914. In Johor Bahru, the Malay Peninsula railway extension was finished in 1909, and in 1923 the Johor–Singapore Causeway was completed. Johor Bahru developed at a modest rate between the First and Second World Wars. The secretariat building— Sultan Ibrahim Building—was completed in 1940 as the British colonial government attempted to streamline the state's administration.


World War II

The continuous development of Johor Bahru was, however, halted when the Japanese under General
Tomoyuki Yamashita was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Yamashita led Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya and Battle of Singapore. His conquest of Malaya and Singapore in 70 days earned him the sobriquet "The Tig ...
invaded the town on 31 January 1942. As the Japanese had reached northwest Johor by 15 January, they easily captured major towns of Johor such of Batu Pahat, Yong Peng, Kluang and Ayer Hitam. The British and other Allied forces were forced to retreat towards Johor Bahru; however, following a further series of bombings by the Japanese on 29 January, the British retreated to Singapore and blew up the causeway the following day as a final attempt to stop the Japanese advance in British Malaya. The Japanese then used the Sultan's residence of Bukit Serene Palace located in the town as their main temporary base for their future initial plans to conquer Singapore while waiting to reconnect the causeway. The Japanese chose the palace as their main base because they already knew the British would not dare to attack it as this would harm their close relationship with Johor. In less than a month, the Japanese repaired the causeway and invaded the Singapore island easily. Soon after the war ended in 1946, the town became the main hotspot for Malay nationalism in Malaya. Onn Jaafar, a local Malay politician who later became the Chief Minister of Johor, formed the United Malay National Organisation party on 11 May 1946 when the Malays expressed their widespread disenchantment over the
British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
's action for granting citizenship laws to non-Malays in the proposed states of the
Malayan Union The Malayan Union (; Jawi: كساتوان مالايا) was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single g ...
. An agreement over the policy was then reached in the town with Malays agreeing with the dominance of economy by the non-Malays and the Malays' dominance in political matters being agreed upon by non-Malays. Racial conflict between the Malay and non-Malays, especially the Chinese, is being provoked continuously since the
Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...
.


Post-independence

After the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, Johor Bahru continued as the state capital and more development was carried out, with the town's expansion and the construction of more new townships and industrial estates. The Indonesian confrontation did not directly affect Johor Bahru as the main Indonesian landing point in Johor was in Labis and Tenang in Segamat District as well Pontian District. There was only one active Indonesian spy organisation in the town, known as ''Gerakan Ekonomi Melayu Indonesia'' (GEMI). They frequently engaged with the Indonesian communities living there to contribute information for Indonesian commandos until the bombing of the MacDonald House in Singapore in 1965. By the early 1990s, the town had considerably expanded in size, and was officially granted a
city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...
on 1 January 1994. Johor Bahru City Council was formed and the city's current main square, Dataran Bandaraya Johor Bahru, was constructed to commemorate the event. A central business district was developed in the centre of the city from the mid-1990s in the area around Wong Ah Fook Street. The state and federal government channelled considerable funds for the development of the city—particularly more so after 2006, when the
Iskandar Malaysia Iskandar Malaysia (formerly known as Iskandar Development Region and South Johor Economic Region), is the main southern development corridor in Johor, Malaysia. It was established on 8 November 2006. Iskandar Malaysia is currently the largest ...
was formed. For more than ten years of building construction and rapid urbanisation in Johor Bahru, the city has experienced a series of property boom with many new higher-end high-rise apartments and commercial property, including The Astaka, which has been the tallest building in the city and outside
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
since 2018, and is one of the tallest twin towers in the world. With the gradual improvement of
quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
and infrastructure, Johor Bahru has also been ranked one of the global cities with the highest living quality, the third highest in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
after Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, according to Mercer, as of 2024. Today, it is also Malaysia's fastest city in terms of internet speed, second only after Singapore in Southeast Asia.


Governance

As the capital city of Johor, the city plays an important role in the economic welfare of the entire state's population. According to the Doing Business Ranking published by the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
, Johor Bahru had the second most efficient governance in Malaysia in terms of property registration, only after
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
. There is one member of parliament (MP) representing the single
parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
(''P.160'') in the city. The city also elects two representatives to the state legislature from the state assembly districts of Larkin and Stulang.


Local authority and city definition

The city is administered by the Johor Bahru City Council. The current mayor is Dato' Haji Mohd Noorazam bin Dato' Haji Osman, which took office since 15 August 2021. Johor Bahru obtained city status on 1 January 1994. The area under the jurisdiction of the Johor Bahru City Council includes Central District, Kangkar Tebrau, Kempas, Taman Sri Bahagia, Danga Bay, Taman Suria, Kampung Majidee Baru, Southkey, Taman Sri Tebrau, Taman Abad, Taman Sentosa, Banda Baru Uda, Taman Perling, Larkin, Majidee, Kampung Maju Jaya, Bandar Dato´ Onn, Seri Austin, Adda Heights, Taman Gaya, Taman Daya, Taman Bukit Aliff, Setia Tropika, Taman Johor, Taman Anggerik, Taman Sri Putra, Mount Austin, Pandan, Pasir Pelangi, Pelangi, Taman Johor Jaya, Taman Molek, Permas Jaya, Rinting, Tampoi, Tasek Utara and Tebrau. This covers an area of . Currently there are 11 council members in the city council, which consists of 3 Amanah members, 3 Bersatu members, 3 DAP members and 2 PKR members. In August 2021, mayor Adib Azhari Daud was arrested and taken into custody for allegedly accepting bribes from contractors while overseeing development of Johor Bahru. The arrest marks the first time an active Johor mayor has been arrested.


Courts of law and legal enforcement

The city high court complex is located along Dato' Onn Road. The Sessions and Magistrate Courts is located on Ayer Molek Road, while another
court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...
for
Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
law is located on Abu Bakar Road. The Johor (state) Police Contingent Headquarters is located on Tebrau Road. Johor Bahru's Southern District police headquarters, which also operates as a police station, is on Meldrum Road in the city centre. The Johor Bahru Southern District traffic police headquarters is a separate entity along Tebrau Road, close to the city centre. Johor Bahru's Northern District police headquarters and Northern District Traffic Police headquarters are co-located in Skudai, about 20 km north of the city centre. There are around eleven police stations and seven police substations (Pondok Polis) in the greater Johor Bahru area. Johor Bahru Prison was located in the city along Ayer Molek Road, but was closed down after 122 years operation in December 2005, its function being transferred to an expanded prison in the town of Kluang about 110 km from Johor Bahru. Other temporary lock-ups or prison cells are available in most police stations in the city, as in other parts of Malaysia.


Geography

Johor Bahru is located along the
Straits of Johor The Johor Strait (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Straits of Johor, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach, also spelled Johore Strait) is an international strait in Southeast Asia, between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. Geography ...
at the southern end of
Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the list of isla ...
. Originally, the city area was only in 1933 before it was expanded to over in 2000.


Climate

The city has an equatorial climate with consistent temperatures, a considerable amount of rain, and high humidity throughout the course of the year. An equatorial climate is a
tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...
more subject to the
Intertropical Convergence Zone The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ , or ICZ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the t ...
than the
trade wind The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere, ...
s and with no
cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...
. Daily average temperatures range from in January to in April with an average annual rainfall of around . The wettest months, with 19 to 25 per cent more rain than average, are April, November and December. Although the climate is relatively uniform, it does show some seasonal variation due to the effects of
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
s, with noticeable changes in wind speed and direction, cloud cover and amount of rainfall. There are two monsoon periods each year, the first one between mid-October and January, which is the north-east Monsoon. This period is characterised by heavier rainfall and wind from the north-east. The second one is the south-west Monsoon, which hardly affects the rainfall in Johor Bahru, where winds are from the south and south-west. This occurs between June and September.


Urban Planning

Johor Bahru is a largely suburban city, which has considerable urban sprawl and a high degree of car dependency. The state government has acknowledged the high degree of traffic congestion within the city, and has been making plans for the implementation of a
Light Rail Transit Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
(LRT) or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system since at least 2017. As of 2024, the state government is commencing plans to construct an elevated Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) network in the city.


Demographics

Johor Bahru has an official
demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...
where people are commonly referred to as "Johor Bahruans". The terms "J.B-ites" and "J.B-ians" have also been used to a limited extent. People from Johor are called Johoreans.


Ethnicity and religion

The Malaysian Census in 2020 reported the population of Johor Bahru as 858,118, making it the largest state capital city in Malaysia by population. It also forms the capital of
Johor Bahru District The Johor Bahru District is a Districts of Malaysia, district located in the southern part of Johor, Malaysia. It covers an area of 1,063.97km2 and has a population of 1.8 million, making it the second largest district in Malaysia by populatio ...
, which includes
Iskandar Puteri Iskandar Puteri (formerly known as Nusajaya) is a Cities of Malaysia, city and the administrative capital of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is situated along the Straits of Johor at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula and the southernmos ...
and Pasir Gudang, and is the second largest
district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
in Malaysia with a population of 1.8 million, as of 2023. The city's population today is a mixture of three main ethnicities – Malays, Chinese and Indians- along with other bumiputras. The Malays in Johor Bahru are strongly related to the neighbouring Riau Malays in
Riau Islands The Riau Islands () is a provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia consisting of a group of islands located in the western part of the country. It was established in 2002 after being separated from the neighboring Riau Province. The capit ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
with significant populations of Javanese,
Bugis The Bugis people, also known as Buginese, are an Austronesian ethnic groupthe most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassarese and Torajan), in the south-western province of Sula ...
and Banjarese among the local Johorean Malay population. The Chinese mainly are from the majority
Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
and Teochew (among the local Chinese) subgroups with minorities of
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
,
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
, Henghua, Foochow and
Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ''Hái-nâm-oe'', Hainanese Pinyin: ''Hhai3 nam2 ue1'', ), also known as Qiongwen (), Qiongyu () or Hainan Min () is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the far southern Chinese island province of Hain ...
among its local Chinese dominant minority populace, while the Indian community are majoritally
Tamils The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is o ...
(including Ceylonese), there are also small populations of
Telugus Telugu people (), also called Āndhras, are an ethno-linguistic group who speak the Telugu language and are native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Yanam district of Puducherry. They are the most populous of the four ...
,
Malayalis The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian languages, Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, ...
, Gujaratis,
Bengalis Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...
,
Sindhis Sindhis are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group originating from and native to Sindh, a region of Pakistan, who share a common Sindhi culture, history, ancestry, and language. The historical homeland of Sindhis is bordered by southeastern Balochi ...
,
Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...
and
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
Punjabis The Punjabis (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Pañjābī) are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region, comprising areas of northwestern India and eastern Paki ...
among the Indian populace. The Malays are majority
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s, while the Chinese are predominantly
Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...
/ Taoists and the Indians were mostly
Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
despite there is also a small numbers from the two ethnic groups that are Christians and Muslims. A small number of
Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...
, Animists and secularists can also be found in the city. File:Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque.jpg, Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque, the main mosque in the city. File:Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Glass Temple, JB (2025) - img 91.jpg, Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Glass Temple, the world's first glass temple. File:JB Old Chinese Temple 3.JPG, Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple, the oldest
Chinese temple Chinese temple architecture refer to a type of structures used as place of worship of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, or Chinese folk religion, where people revere ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors. They can be classified as: * '' mi ...
in the city. File:Wikimania 2023 - Johor Bahru Photo Walk - Cathedral of the Holy Immaculate Conception 4.jpg, Church of the Immaculate Conception, the oldest church in the city.


Languages

The local ethnic Malays speak the Malay language, while the language primarily spoken by the local Chinese is
Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...
. The Chinese community is represented by several dialect groups:
Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
, Teochew,
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
and
Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ''Hái-nâm-oe'', Hainanese Pinyin: ''Hhai3 nam2 ue1'', ), also known as Qiongwen (), Qiongyu () or Hainan Min () is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the far southern Chinese island province of Hain ...
with small minorities of Foochow, Henghua and
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
. The Indian community predominantly speaks
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
, with a minority of
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
, Telugu and Punjabi speakers. 60% of the city's population is fluent in English with a higher rate among younger people.


Economy

Johor Bahru is the fastest-growing city in terms of urbanisation in Malaysia, according to Euromonitor International. It is the main commercial centre for Johor and is located in the Indonesia–Malaysia–Singapore Growth Triangle. Johor Bahru is also the core city of
Johor Bahru District The Johor Bahru District is a Districts of Malaysia, district located in the southern part of Johor, Malaysia. It covers an area of 1,063.97km2 and has a population of 1.8 million, making it the second largest district in Malaysia by populatio ...
, the second-largest district economy in Malaysia. It ranks second in the nation behind the capital,
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
, in terms of economic competitiveness and prosperity, according to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
and Resonance, and is currently the 29th best Asian city, second in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur. It is classified as Zone A of
Iskandar Malaysia Iskandar Malaysia (formerly known as Iskandar Development Region and South Johor Economic Region), is the main southern development corridor in Johor, Malaysia. It was established on 8 November 2006. Iskandar Malaysia is currently the largest ...
, the nation's largest
special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
by investment value. Under this flagship zone, Johor Bahru has been designated by the government to develop various economic activities, such as finance, commerce and retail, and hospitality. It is also the centre of arts and culture, hospitality, urban tourism, plastic manufacturing, electrical and electronics and food processing. The main shopping districts are located within the city, with a number of large shopping malls located in the suburbs. Johor Bahru hosts numerous international
conferences A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...
, congress and trade fairs, such as the Nikkei Forum, Eastern Regional Organisation for Planning and Housing and World Islamic Economic Forum. The city is the first in Malaysia to practise a
low-carbon economy A low-carbon economy (LCE) is an economy which absorbs as much greenhouse gas as it emits. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mid-20th century. There are many proven ...
. In 2021, Johor Bahru was ranked 432nd globally in the Global City Lab's global cities report that assesses cities' economic brand values, the second in Malaysia after
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
. Tertiary-based industry dominates the economy with many international tourists from the regions visiting the city. The city has a very close economic relationship with Singapore. Many of the city's residents work in Singapore. Around 3,000 logistic lorries travel between Johor Bahru and Singapore every day for delivering goods and trading activities. Many residents in Singapore frequently visit the city; some of them have also chosen to live in the city. In 2025, Johor Bahru is ranked the world's 20th most attractive city for businesses, second in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur, according to Oliver Wyman.


Transportation


Land

The internal roads linking different parts of the city are mostly federal roads constructed and maintained by
Malaysian Public Works Department The Malaysian Public Works Department (; Jawi: ) is the federal government department in Malaysia under Ministry of Works Malaysia (MOW) which is responsible for construction and maintenance of public infrastructure in West Malaysia and Labu ...
. There are five major highways linking the Johor Bahru Central Business District to outlying suburbs: Tebrau Highway and Johor Bahru Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway in the northeast, Skudai Highway in the northwest, Iskandar Coastal Highway in the west and Johor Bahru East Coast Highway in the east. Pasir Gudang Highway and the connecting Johor Bahru Parkway cross Tebrau Highway and Skudai Highway, which serve as the middle
ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...
of the metropolitan area. The Johor Bahru Inner Ring Road, which connects with the Sultan Iskandar customs complex, aids in controlling the traffic in and around the central business district. Access to the national expressway is provided through the North–South Expressway and Senai–Desaru Expressway. The Johor–Singapore Causeway links the city to
Woodlands, Singapore Woodlands is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential town located in the North Region, Singapore, North Region of Singapore. As of 2019, the town has a population of 254,733. Located approximately ...
with a six-lane road and a railway line terminating at the Southern Integrated Gateway.


Metro and Light Rail

The State Government has acknowledged the high degree of traffic congestion within the city, and has been making plans for the implementation of a
Light Rail Transit Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
(LRT) or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system since at least 2017. Johor's Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi acknowledged that "an efficient public transportation system in Johor Bahru is no longer a luxury but a necessity." However, in 2024, the government shelved their plans to construct an LRT network in JB. The government claimed that the long wait-time of five to seven years needed for the completion of an LRT network was prohibitive, given the city's pressing need for a public transport network as soon as possible (owing to the opening of the JB-SG RTS Link in 2026). Hence, the State Government opted to construct an elevated Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) network instead, with construction works slated to begin by end-2025.


Bus

The main bus terminals of the city are Johor Bahru Sentral and Larkin Sentral located in Larkin. Other bus terminals include Taman Johor Jaya Bus Terminal and Ulu Tiram Bus Terminal. Larkin Sentral has direct bus services to and from many destinations in West Malaysia, southern
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and Singapore, while Taman Johor Jaya and Ulu Tiram Bus Terminals serve local destinations. Major bus operators in the city are Causeway Link, Maju and S&S. Since January 2024, Singaporean passport holders arriving at Johor Bahru's land checkpoints by bus have been able to bypass the manual passport clearance counters by using the e-Gates for clearance (previously only available to Malaysian passport holders). This has significantly reduced the travel time of those arriving in the city by bus.


Taxi

Two types of taxis operate in the city; the main taxi is either in red and yellow, blue, green or red while the larger, less common type is known as a
limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment which can be operated mechanically by hand or by a button electronically. A luxu ...
taxi, which is more comfortable but expensive. Most taxis in the city do not use their
meter The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
.


Railway

The city is served by two railway stations, which are Johor Bahru Sentral railway station and Kempas Baru railway station. Both stations serve train services to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. In 2015, a new shuttle train service operated by
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) (; Jawi: ) or colloquially referred to simply as KTM, is the main rail operator in Peninsular Malaysia. The railway system dates back to the British colonial era, when it was first built to transport tin. ...
(KTM) was launched providing transport to Woodlands in Singapore. The under-construction Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS Link) connecting Singapore, is Malaysia's first LRT line outside the Klang Valley, and will start operation in 2027.


Air

The city is served by
Senai International Airport Senai International Airport , formerly known as Sultan Ismail International Airport, is an international airport serving Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second most populous district and other regions in southern Peninsular Malaysia. Located i ...
located at the neighbouring Senai town and connected through Skudai Highway. Five airlines,
AirAsia Capital A Berhad (), operating as AirAsia (stylised as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Established in 1993 and commencing operations in 1996, the airline is the largest in M ...
(and its subsidiaries
Indonesia AirAsia PT Indonesia AirAsia, operating as Indonesia AirAsia, is an Indonesian low-cost airline based in Tangerang, Banten. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and is an Indonesian associate carrier of the Malaysian AirAsia. Its ...
and Thai AirAsia),
Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
,
Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines ( Malay: ''Penerbangan Malaysia'') is the flag carrier of Malaysia, headquartered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The airline flies to destinations across Europe, Oceania and Asia from its main hub at Kuala Lumpur Int ...
, Batik Air Malaysia and TransNusa, provide flights domestically as well as international flights to
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, Jakarta Soekarno–Hatta,
Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
,
Hồ Chí Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
,
Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...
and Bangkok Don Mueang. Changi Airport is southeast of the city centre, across the border in Singapore, and is linked by a frequent cross-border coach service operated by Transtar Travel.


Sea

Boat services are available to ports in Batam and Bintan Islands in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
from Stulang Laut Ferry Terminal, located near the suburb of Stulang. The city is also served by Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port, the former is currently the 15th-busiest port in the world, and the largest transshipment hub in Malaysia.


Other utilities


Healthcare

There are three
public hospital A public hospital, or government hospital, is a hospital which is government owned and is predominantly funded by the government and operates predominantly off the money that is collected from taxpayers to fund healthcare initiatives. In almost al ...
s, four
health clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care need ...
s and thirteen 1Malaysia clinics in Johor Bahru. Sultanah Aminah Hospital, which is located along Persiaran Road, is the largest public hospital in Johor Bahru as well as in Johor with 989 beds. Another government funded hospital is the Sultan Ismail Specialist Hospital with 700 beds. Another large private health facility is the KPJ Puteri Specialist Hospital with 158 beds. Further healthcare facilities are currently being expanded to improve healthcare services in the city.


Education

Many government or state schools are available in the city. The
secondary schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
include
English College Johore Bahru The English College Johore Bahru, also known as Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar, abbreviated as English College, EC, MSAB, The college, and sometimes dubbed "The Pride Of Johore", is an old premier secondary school in Malaysia. It is an all-boys school ...
, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Engku Aminah, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Ismail, Sekolah Menengah Infant Jesus Convent, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (Perempuan) Sultan Ibrahim and Sekolah Menengah Saint Joseph. There are also a number of international schools in the city. These include Marlborough College Malaysia, Shattuck-St. Mary's Forest City International School, Raffles American School, Sunway International School. The other private universities are Monash University Malaysia (Clinical School), City University Malaysia,
Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...
Medicine Malaysia,
University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...
Malaysia,
University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...
Malaysia, and others. There are also a number of private college campuses and one polytechnic operating in the city; these are Crescendo International College, KPJ College, Olympia College, Sunway College Johor Bahru, Taylor's College and College of Islamic Studies Johor.


Libraries

The Johor State Library, also known as the Johor Public Library Corporation headquarters is the main library in the state, located off Yahya Awal Road. Another public library branch is the University Park in Kebudayaan Road, while there are other libraries or private libraries in schools, colleges, and universities. Two village libraries are available in the district of Johor Bahru.


Culture and attractions


Attractions and recreation spots

Johor Bahru was ranked the world's 39th most visited city by international tourists, according to Euromonitor International in 2019, making it Malaysia's second most visited city by international tourists, after Kuala Lumpur.


Cultural attractions

There are a number of cultural attractions in Johor Bahru. The Royal Abu Bakar Museum located within the
Grand Palace The Grand Palace (, Royal Institute of Thailand. (2011). ''How to read and how to write.'' (20th Edition). Bangkok: Royal Institute of Thailand. . ) is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the officia ...
building is the main museum in the city. The Johor Bahru Kwong Siew Heritage located in Wong Ah Fook Street housed the former Cantonese clan house that was donated by Wong Ah Fook. The Foon Yew High School houses many historical documents of the city history with a Chinese cultural heritage. The Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum on Ibrahim Road includes the history of Chinese migration to Johor along with a collection of documents, photos, and other artefacts. The Johor Art Gallery in Petrie Road is a house gallery built in 1910, known as the house for the former third Chief Minister of Johor, Abdullah Jaafar. The house features old architecture and became the centre for the collection of artefacts related to Johor's cultural history since its renovation in 2000.


Chingay parade

The Chinese community holds the Chingay parade annually by the Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple, which unites the five Chinese ethnic groups in Johor, namely
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
,
Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ''Hái-nâm-oe'', Hainanese Pinyin: ''Hhai3 nam2 ue1'', ), also known as Qiongwen (), Qiongyu () or Hainan Min () is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the far southern Chinese island province of Hain ...
,
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
, Hoklo and Teochew. This co-operation among different Chinese cultures under a voluntary organisation became a symbol of harmony among the different Chinese people that deepens their sense of heritage to preserve their cultural traditions. The Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum describes the history of Chinese migration into Johor from the 14th to 19th centuries during the Ming and
Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
dynasties. The ruler of Johor encouraged the Chinese community to plant gambier and pepper in the interior. Many of these farmers switched to
pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...
cultivation in the 20th century, making Johor one of Malaysia's top fruit producers.


Historical attractions

The
Grand Palace The Grand Palace (, Royal Institute of Thailand. (2011). ''How to read and how to write.'' (20th Edition). Bangkok: Royal Institute of Thailand. . ) is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the officia ...
is one of the historical attractions in the city, and is an example of Victorian-style architecture with a garden. Figure Museum is another historical colonial building since 1886 which ever become the house for the Johor first Menteri Besar Jaafar Muhammad; it is located on the top of Smile Hill (''Bukit Senyum''). The English College (now ''Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar'') established in 1914 was located close to the Sungai Chat Palace before being moved to its present location at Sungai Chat Road; some of the ruins are visible at the old site. The Sultan Ibrahim Building is another historical building in the city; built in 1936 by British architect Palmer and Turner, it was the centre of the administration of Johor as since the relocation from Telok Blangah in Singapore, the Johor government never had its own building. Before the current railway station was built, there was Johor Bahru railway station (formerly Wooden Railway) which has now been turned into a museum after serving for 100 years since the British colonial era. Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque, located along Skudai Road, is the main and the oldest mosque in the state. It was built with a combination of Victorian,
Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...
and Malay architectures. The Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple, which is the oldest Chinese temple in the city, is located on the Trus Road, dedicated to the Five Patron Deities from the five Southern Chinese Clans (
Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
, Teochew,
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
,
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
&
Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ''Hái-nâm-oe'', Hainanese Pinyin: ''Hhai3 nam2 ue1'', ), also known as Qiongwen (), Qiongyu () or Hainan Min () is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the far southern Chinese island province of Hain ...
) in the city. It was built in 1875 and renovated by the ''Persekutuan Tiong Hua Johor Bahru'' (Johor Bahru Tiong Hua Association) in 1994–95 with the addition of a small L-shaped museum in one corner of the square premises. The Wong Ah Fook Mansion, the home of the late Wong Ah Fook, was a former historical attraction. It stood for more than 150 years but was demolished illegally by its owner in 2014 to make way for a commercial housing development without informing the state government. Other historical religious buildings include the Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Hindu Temple, which is the first glass temple in the world, Sri Raja Mariamman Hindu Temple, Gurdwara Sahib and Church of the Immaculate Conception.


Leisure and conservation areas

The Danga Bay is a area of recreational waterfront. There are around 15 established golf courses, of which two offer 36-hole facilities; most of these are located within resorts. The city also features several
paintball Paintball is a competitive sport, competitive team sport, team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called Paintball equipment#Paintballs, paintballs that b ...
parks which are also used for off-road motorsports activities. The Johor Zoo is the oldest zoo in Malaysia, built in 1928. It covers of land, it was originally called "animal garden" before being handed to the state government for renovation in 1962. The zoo has around 100 species of animals, including wild cats, camels,
chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...
s,
gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...
s,
orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...
s, and tropical birds. Visitors can participate in activities such as horse riding or using
pedalo A pedalo (British English), pedal boat (U.S. English), or paddle boat (U.S., Canadian, and Australian English) is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the action of bicycle pedal, pedals turning a paddle wheel. Description A pedalo is ...
s. The largest park in the city is the Independence Park.


Other attractions

Dataran Bandaraya was built after Johor Bahru was proclaimed as a city. The site features a
clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...
, fountain and a large field. The Wong Ah Fook Street is named after Wong Ah Fook. The Tan Hiok Nee Street is named after Tan Hiok Nee, who was the leader of the former Ngee Heng Kongsi, a
secret society A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...
in Johor Bahru. Together with the Dhoby Street, both are part of a trail known as Old Buildings Road; they feature a mixture of Chinese and Indian heritages, reflected by their forms of ethnic business and architecture.


Shopping

The Mawar Handicrafts Centre, a government-funded exhibition and sales centre, is located along the Sungai Chat road and sells various batik and songket clothes. Opposite this is the Johor Area Rehabilitation Organisation (JARO) Handicrafts Centre which sells items such as hand-made cane furniture, soft toys and
rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...
baskets made by the physically disabled. As of 2024, Johor has the most shopping centres out of any state in Malaysia, with a total of 156 within the state—primarily concentrated within Johor Bahru. Some prominent shopping centres in the city include Mid Valley Southkey, Paradigm Mall Johor Bahru, Toppen Shopping Centre,
IKEA IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...
Tebrau,
AEON The word aeon , also spelled eon (in American and Australian English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timele ...
Mall Tebrau City, Johor Bahru City Square, and others.


Entertainment

The oldest cinema in the city was the Broadway Theatre which mostly screened
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
and
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
movies. Other cinemas available in the city located inside shopping malls. JLand Tower, located in the city centre, also features a glass-floored skybridge and the city's tallest observation deck.


Sports

The city's main
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club is Johor Darul Ta'zim. Its home stadium is Sultan Ibrahim Stadium with a capacity of around 40,000. There is also a
futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...
centre, known as Sports Prima, which has eight minimum-sized
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
approved futsal courts; it is the largest indoor sports centre in the city.


Radio stations

Two radio stations have their offices in the city: Best FM (104.1) and Johor FM (101.9).


International relations

Several countries have set up their consulates in Johor Bahru, including
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
and
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
.


Twin towns – Sister cities

Johor Bahru's
sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...
are: * Changzhou, Jiangsu, China * Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia *
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, Türkiye (Turkey)


Safety

As of 2025, Johor Bahru has become the second safest city in Malaysia with the second lowest crime rate. However, it once possessed relatively high crime index. In 2014, Johor Bahru South police district recorded one of the highest crime rates in the country with 4,151 cases, behind
Petaling Jaya Petaling Jaya (), colloquially referred to as "PJ", is a city in Petaling District, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Originally developed as a Satellite city, satellite township for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, it is part of the G ...
. Singaporeans visiting or transiting through the neighbouring city are often targeted by criminals, such as those involved in gangs, illegal car cloning and red-light districts.


In popular culture


Movies

* '' Punggok Rindukan Bulan'' (2008)


Notable people

* Hishammuddin Hussein (born 1961), Malaysian senior politician belonging to the UMNO party * Sultan Ibrahim Ismail (born 1958), current sultan cum 16th reigning
Yang di-Pertuan Agong The King of Malaysia, officially ''Yang di-Pertuan Agong'' ( Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ), is the constitutional monarch and Figurehead, ceremonial head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957, when the Federation of Malaya gained ...
* Joyce Chu (born 1997), singer-actress * Onn Jaafar (1895–1962), founder of the UMNO political party * Christina Jordan (born 1962), Malaysian-born British politician * Vivien Yeo (born 1984), Malaysian actress based in Hong Kong * Gin Lee (born 1987), Malaysian singer based in Hong Kong * Robert Kuok (born 1923), Business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Top 100 wealthiest people in world. *
Ng Tze Yong Ng Tze Yong ( zh, t=黃智勇, p=Huáng Zhìyǒng; born 16 May 2000) is a Malaysian badminton player. Ng won a bronze medal at the 2021 Sudirman Cup. He also helped Malaysian team to win gold at the 2022 Badminton Asia Team Championships and ...
(born 2000), national badminton player * Ronny Chieng (born 1985), Malaysian comedian and actor based in United States * Tunku Abdul Rahman Hassanal Jeffri (born 1993), racing driver and member of the Johor Royal Family * Sebastian Francis (born 1951), fifth bishop of
Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang The Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang (; Malaysian Malay, Malay: ''Keuskupan Pulau Pinang''; Tamil language, Tamil: ''பினாங்கு மறைமாவட்டம்''; Mandarin language, Mandarin: ''天主教檳城教區'') is situat ...
and
cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
of the Catholic Church


See also

* Johor Bahru landmarks * Johor Bahru Central Business District


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * * *


External links


Johor Bahru City Council
{{Authority control Populated coastal places in Malaysia Populated places established in 1855 Populated places in Johor Malaysia–Singapore border crossings 1855 establishments in Asia State capitals in Malaysia