Johor bahru-The Magnificent city
The capital of the town of Johor in the Southern Malaysia, the city of johor bahru is located in the southernmost tip of the mainland of Eurasia. The city has the population of around 900,000 and in the metropolitan area, the population is nearly 2 million. The johor bahru city is an urban area that is only second largest to the country capital of Kuala Lumpur and it is an urban area associated to the region of Klang Valley. The city has an easy conveyance connection from Singapore via bridges and rail roads and it forms the metropolitan area of the one of the largest growth triangle of southern most Asia that is the Sijori Growth Triangle. The city also receives millions of tourist’s world wide and has thus a sprawling tourism industry. An immensely important hub for industry and commerce the city is important in the southern Malaysia. It is also termed as one of the biggest industrial region of Malaysia.
Geographical features of the city:
The strait of Tebrau is famously known as the strait of Johor which is a narrow piece of water body separating Malaysia with Singapore. The central and the southern coastline are administered by the council of the city of johor bahru and it also constitutes the metropolitan area. There are extensive coastal areas that the city boasts of that is not only scenic for tourism development but also for the swamp lands. The swamps located in the coastline are very rich with ecological assets. There are some very important systems of river like the Sungai Pulai, the Sungai Johor and the Sungai Tebrau.
Historical facts of johor bahru:
The city of johor bahru was established in the year 1855 by the king of Johor named Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim. It was done when he set up the administrative headquarters of his administration in the city. At the time the city was known by the name of Tanjung Puteri and it was a mere village with the dominant occupation of fishing. The name of the city was then changed to Iskander Puteri in the year 1858. Finally the name johor bahru was given by the son and successor of the king. It was renamed during the extravagant opening of Istana Besar in the year 1866.
Demographical view of the city:
Of the total 1,200,000 people that populated the city of johor bahru in the year 2000, 44 percent consisted of Malay people, 41.5 percent constituted Chinese, a mere 9.1 percent were of the Indian origins whereas the rest 5.4 percent contained the other minority of the population. The Chinese community in the city of johor bahru is represented by a variety of groups representing several dialects. But some of the major dialect is of the Teochew, Hakka, Cantonese, Hokkein, Foochow, and Hainanese. Until the 1970’s the working or the vehicular language of the Chinese community was Teochew. The large part of the Chinese population dwelling in the johor bahru had their ancestral origin in the Chaoshan region. Their resettlement to the city of Johor was mainly due to the economic development of the city onwards 1970’s. This also attracted other groups of different dialects from various part of the state also. The Tamils, Telugus, Punjabis and Malayalees constitute the Indian community of the city. But the Indian community also has several smaller groups included along itself as well. Owing to the greater availability of the job and the employment prospects of the city there are several migrants from Perak, Negeri, Penang etc. also there is the greater availability of the manufacturing jobs and servi8ces that lure the common public of several other states.
Modern johor bahru: redevelopment.
The quick expansion of the city into a cosmopolitan town was made under the directive of Abu Bakar. His reign saw the construction of several monuments and building of note. The Chinese architect and constructor made several buildings like the State Mosque, the residence of Menteri Besar, the Istana Besar. The Toisanese contractor was also one of Abu bekar’s closest patrons of the time. Thus the town also noticed the increasing influx of immigrants of the Chinese origin. The development of the city of johor bahru continued under the rule of Sultan Ibrahim. Under his rule the railway lines along the Malay Peninsular region was extended and it was completed in the year 1909. The link between the railway network of the Singapore and the Malay Peninsula was completed in the year 1923. But the rate of development slowed down a bit and became modest during the times of the two world wars. The Sultan Ibrahim Building that is the secretariat building of the state was completed in the year 1940. It was the time when the colonial British government was attempting to stream line the administration of the state. In the year 1942, the city of johor bahru was gripped by the attack of the Japanese army. It had happened during the Battle of Malaya. During this time the military’s base for preparation was created in the residence that belonged to the then sultan.
Economy of the city:
The city of johor bahru is one of the main centers of urbanization among three other in the Malaysian peninsular region. It forms an important industrial and logistical center for the southern part of Malaysia as well. It is also one of the very important commercial centers of the country. There are some major industry that is centered in the city like electronics, petrochemical refinery as well as ship building and other resources. The companies and the several tourism companies present in the city are based in Singapore as well. There are a number of several large shopping centers in the city that entertains the tourists and cater to their need for shopping. This in turn creates the means to tale advantage of the stronger Singapore dollar. Therefore the retail market is very much developed even for the size of the city that is comparatively so small. The main centers and complexes of shopping is located within the city premises but there is also a large number of malls have their location in the suburbs as well.