Iskandar Puteri

Historically the area was an old Malay and Orang Asli fishing village and fort that has existed since Srivijaya and part of the Johor Bahru which was then known as Ujong Medini or Tanjung Puteri. It is located at the mouth of Tebrau Strait and has the narrowest distance between the Johore mainland to the Singapore, thus nicknamed as Sempit Puteri (literally means, Narrow Princess) in the past.

In 1855, when Temenggung Daeng Ibrahim bin Temenggung Daeng Abdul Rahman won his claim over the Johor mainland, he shifted the capital city of the latest divided Johore from Teluk Belanga to Tanjung Puteri and renamed it as Iskandar Puteri,[5] which later the new township will be named after. The name was however short-lived, when his son Sultan Maharaja Abu Bakar, the 21st Sultan of Johor and the first Sultan of Modern Johor changed it into Johor Bahru upon his coronation as the Maharaja of Johor in 1868 to distinguish his dynasty from the old Sultanate of Johor.[6]

During his reign, Jaafar Muhammad was appointed as the first chief minister of Modern Johor. According to story from Yayasan Warisan Johor, during his journey to Sempit Puteri, the paddle of the sampan that Dato Jaafar was boarding, was broken. From that event, the place is known as Gelang Patah (literally means Broken Paddle). Until the 1950s, the place is still governed under the city of Iskandar Puteri.

On 3 September 1953, Gelang Patah Town Council was founded, followed by Lima Kedai Town Council on 1 August 1954 to oversee the sanitary, welfare and facilities development at the area. On 1 March 1978, Gelang Patah and Lima Kedai Town Council, together with six other town councils in Johor Bahru district, i.e. Skudai, Kangkar Pulai, Ulu Choh, Ulu Tiram, Masai and Plentong formed Johor Bahru Tengah Municipal Council.[7]

In 1993, during the leadership of the fourth Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a plan for a second bridge connecting the Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore was brought forward by Halim Saad, who at the time known as a successful young entrepreneur who build the Malaysia longest highway, North-South Expressway, and apprentice to the former Minister of Finance Daim Zainuddin. The cabinet approved the project as the traffic at the then Johor Causeway was already over congested. The new bridge had been connected from the NSE via Second Link to Jurong East of Singapore. His past experience enable Halim to secure financing from Bank via his company Renong Berhad (later known as UEM Land Berhad) to acquire vast land along the Second Link for his ambitious new township which later known as Nusajaya. The Nusajaya name was given by former Menteri Besar of Johor, Muhyiddin Yassin. Nusajaya was very well planned township and won many award for its sustainable masterplan. Nusajaya become synonym with Johor Bahru Tengah and latter give name to the city.

In January 2016, Nusajaya was renamed to its former prestige name, Iskandar Puteri by Sultan Ibrahim, current Sultan of Johor. Johor Bahru Tengah Municipal Council was upgraded to Iskandar Puteri City Council in November 2017.[1]

Kota Iskandar

Medini 9, Medini Iskandar

administrative zones of MBIP

Iskandar Puteri consists of 11 administrative zones:[9]

• Iskandar Puteri
• Kangkar Pulai
• Taman Universiti
• Taman Impian Emas
• Taman Mutiara Rini
• Taman Ungku Tun Aminah
• Bandar Uda Utama
• Taman Bukit Indah
• Gelang Patah
• Leisure Farm
• Tanjung Kupang[10]

Puteri Harbour International Ferry Terminal

The Port of Tanjung Pelepas, which ranks as Malaysia's largest container port since 2004 lies in the western side of the city. It is the 19th busiest container port in the world as of 2013. Iskandar Puteri houses the Puteri Harbour International Ferry Terminal, with destinations to cities in Indonesia.[15]

The planning  HSR  Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail also will serve the city at Gerbang Nusajaya in the future.[16][17] At present, this plan is temporarily put on hold due to government financial problems.

Within Johor, the Iskandar Coastal Highway and Pasir Gudang Highway links the city to Johor Bahru City, while the Tanjung Kupang Road links the city to Pontian District. The Second Link Expressway and North–South Expressway connect the city to the other states in Peninsular Malaysia.

The Malaysia–Singapore Second Link was built between Kampong Ladang at Tanjung Kupang, Johor and Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim at Tuas, Singapore. The bridge was built to reduce the traffic congestion at the Johor–Singapore Causeway, and was opened to traffic on 2 January 1998. The twin-deck bridge supports a dual-three lane carriageway and its total length over water is 1,920 m.[18]