The Sultan Ibrahim Building ( ms, Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim; Jawi: باڠونن سلطان إبراهيم) is a former state secretariat building of

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime b ...

. It is located at Bukit Timbalan in Johor Bahru,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The building was constructed between 1936 and 1939 and was completed in 1940 as the British colonial government attempted to streamline the state's administration. It was officially opened by the late

Sultan Ibrahim of Johor Sultan Sir Ibrahim Al-Masyhur Ibni Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar Al-Khalil Ibrahim Shah (17 September 1873 – 8 May 1959) was a Malaysian sultan and the 22nd Sultan of Johor and the 2nd Sultan of modern Johor. He was considered to be "fabulously ...

. It was also the tallest building in Malaya during the pre-

Merdeka ''Merdeka'' is a term in Indonesian and Malay which means "independent" or "free". It is derived from the Sanskrit ''maharddhika'' (महर्द्धिक) meaning "rich, prosperous, and powerful". In the Malay archipelago, this term had ...

era. In Johor Bahru itself, it stood unchallenged as the tallest building in the town until the completion of the

Merlin Tower Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

in the 1970s. The offices of the state secretariat have now moved to

Kota Iskandar Kota Iskandar (Jawi: كوتا إسكندر) (formerly Johor State New Administrative Centre (JSNAC)) is the administrative centre of the state of Johor, Malaysia and its seat of government (Executive branch & Legislative branch of the Johor stat ...

. There are plans to convert the building into a museum.

Architecture

The building's architecture combines colonial and

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

architecture with its

Saracenic upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabi ...

design and tower making it a

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

in Johor Bahru. The building was designed by the renowned British architecture firm,

Palmer and Turner P&T Group (), formerly known as Palmer and Turner Hong Kong (Chinese: 公和洋行; "Kung Wo Yeung Hong"), is an architectural firm in Hong Kong. It is one of the oldest architecture and engineering firms in the world, and it has designed many ...

which was also responsible for designing the Johor Bahru General Hospital now known as

Hospital Sultanah Aminah The Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA; ms, Hospital Sultanah Aminah) is a government-funded multi-specialty hospital located in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. It is the largest hospital in Johor and the main referral and tertiary health centre for ...

as well as several prominent landmarks in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. The building formerly housed the

Menteri Besar In Malaysia, the Menteri Besar ( Jawi:منتري بسر; literally '' First Minister''), colloquially referred to as MB, is the head of government of each of nine states in Malaysia with hereditary rulers. For four states without a monarch, the ...

's (

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

) office and the

Johor State Legislative Assembly The Johor State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Negeri Johor) is the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is composed of 56 members who are elected from single-member constituencies throughout the state. Elections are hel ...

before both were moved to

Construction

The reinforced concrete construction, with stone facing, is built on a metal framework that consists of 3,000 tons of structural steelwork which was fabricated in the Singapore workshops of United Engineers Ltd, who were also responsible for its erection in 1940. Another Singapore-based company, Ah Hong and Company, was responsible for the general construction.

Japanese occupation

In 1942, during the

Japanese occupation of Malaya The then British colony of Malaya was gradually occupied by the Japanese between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender at Singapore on 16 February 1942. The Japanese remained in occupation until their surrender to the Allies in 1945. The ...

, the

Japanese Imperial Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor ...

led by General

Yamashita Tomoyuki was a Japanese officer and convicted war criminal, who was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Yamashita led Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya and Battle of Singapore, with his accomplishment of conque ...

stationed themselves at the building and

Istana Bukit Serene Istana Bukit Serene is the royal palace and official residence of the Sultan of Johor, located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The palace faces the Straits of Johor and has a bird's eye view of Singapore, a former possession of the Sultanate. From hi ...

to plan for the invasion of Singapore.Lee, ''Singapore: The Unexpected Nation'', pg 37 The Japanese used the building as a fortress and a command centre to spy on 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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

activities in

. The building was partly damaged during the Japanese invasion and the damaged parts are still visible today.

References

{{Malaysian state secretariat buildings 1940 establishments in British Malaya Buildings and structures in Johor Bahru

Architecture

Construction

Japanese occupation

See also

References