Kulai is a town and the capital of
Kulai District, Johor, Malaysia. It is administered by the
Kulai Municipal Council (MPKu), which was earlier known as the Kulai District Council.
Kulai is surveyed as one of the happiest cities in Malaysia in June 2020.
Geography
Kulai is located from
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...
city and from
Skudai. It is located in the center of the district. Kulai town and other towns within this district are located along the old trunk road linking
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 ...
and Johor Bahru. The main road,
Federal Route 1, is lined with many retail shops. There are also many housing estates within the township. The town is surrounded by rubber and oil palm estates.
Climate
Kulai has 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 ...
(Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.
Economy
The locals are mostly involved in the agriculture sector, particularly in the oil palm and
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds.
Types of polyisoprene ...
estates surrounding the town. Many of the people work in small retail shops, which are located along the trunk road. Kulai has the first settlement of
FELDA's (Federal Land Development Agency) oil palm plantation in the country - FELDA Taib Andak, which was launched by the second
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia, federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a membe ...
,
Tun Abdul Razak. Kulai is still one of the main producers of
palm oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...
in the country due to its numerous oil palm plantations. Kulai also exports fresh vegetables to
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 ...
on a daily basis.
The economy of Kulai has improved with numerous factories being set up in both Kulai and Senai. There are some public listed companies which have their offices and factories in Kulai, such as Yi-Lai Industry Berhad located in Batu 23 (Jalan Kulai-Air Hitam) ; SCGM Berhad which located in Batu 24 1/2 (Jalan Kulai-Air Hitam) and JCY International Berhad which located in
Kelapa Sawit
Kulai is also within the
Iskandar Development Region (IDR).
Shopping Centres
* Kulai Centrepoint (Super Cowboy)
* IOI Mall Kulai
* Mydin Mall Kulai Utama
* Aeon Mall Kulaijaya
* Lotus's
* Econsave Putri Kulai
* TJ Mart Saleng
* The Commune (Opening to 2023Q4)
* Mid Valley Southkey
Education
Foon Yew High School campus of Kulai located in this district to provide Chinese high school education for the local community.
Culture
The Chinese community in Kulai mainly communicate in
Hakka Chinese
Hakka ( zh, c=, p=Kèjiāhuà; '' Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: '', zh, c=, p=Kèjiāyǔ; '' Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: '') forms a language group of varieties of Chinese, spoken natively by the Hakka people in parts of Southern China, Taiwan, some diaspora areas ...
dialects. There are quite a number of Chinese temples to fulfill the religious needs of the local Chinese community, like Wan Xian Miao Temple (古来萬仙廟) (founded in 1913), Hong Sen Tai Tee Old Temple (古来新港洪仙大帝古廟) (founded in 1891), Yuen Sun Kung Temple (古来云山宫) (founded in 1933) and several other temples. Prominent Temples like Hua Guo Shan Temple (士年纳路口花果山)
and Kulai Putuo Village (古来普陀村) are also tourist attraction spots.
There are also several churches in Kulai include the Presbyterian Church(SYNOD), Christ the King Catholic Church, Baptist Church, Methodist Church and churches of other denominations. The Masjid Jamek is located within Kulai town and serve the needs of the Muslim community.
Transportation

Kulai was an important stopover on the Johor Bahru–Kuala Lumpur trunk road in the 1970s and 1980s until the
North–South Expressway opened in 1994, which bypassed the town. The trunk road is now identified as Road One.
Senai Airport, the international airport which serves Johor is within the municipality.
railway station located nearby the trunk road and served by
KTM Intercity
KTM Intercity () are diesel-hauled intercity train services in Peninsular Malaysia, operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB). Services operate along the East Coast Line between Tumpat and Gemas and on towards JB Sentral on the Wes ...
Gemas-JB Sentral shuttle train.
Notable residents
*
Mawi – Winner of the 2005
Akademi Fantasia singing competition and popular singer from
FELDA Taib Andak
*
Penny Tai – Winner of Best Composer (爱疯了) at Taiwanese Golden Melody Awards 2006 (金曲奖).
*
Firdhaus Farmizi –
Singer-songwriter
*
Jep Sepahtu - Comedian
References
{{Johor
Kulai District
Towns in Johor