Kulai District


The Kulai District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. Its district capital is Kulai Town. It covers Kulai Town, Ayer Bemban, Bandar Putra Kulai, Bukit Batu, Indahpura, Kangkar Pulai, Kelapa Sawit, Saleng, Sedenak, Seelong, Senai, and Sengkang. Kulai is also within Iskandar Malaysia economic zone.

Name

The name Kulai was derived from Mandarin Chinese words of 龟来 which means turtles are coming after the influx of turtle coming to the area after heaving flooding.

Geography

With an area of 753.75 km2, Kulai is the smallest district in Johor, covering 3.96% of the state area and a population of 223,306 at the 2010 Census. It has a mix of urban and rural settlements with a majority of the population settling in towns near Johor Bahru. These population centers, such as Kulai and Senai effectively became suburbs of the greater metropolitan area in Kulai district.

History

Kulai sub-district was upgraded to a full-fledged district on 1 January 2008 and renamed as Kulaijaya District. The district is recognised as the state's 9th district.
On 28 August 2015, Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Ismail ibni Sultan Iskandar ordered the state government to change Kulaijaya's name back to its original Kulai name.

Government

The local authorities of Kulai are Kulai Municipal Council and Iskandar Puteri City Council, the part of southern Kulai, etc.: Kangkar Pulai. Kulai Town also the administry centre of Kulai District and Kulai Municipal Council.

Administrative divisions

Kulai District is divided into 4 mukims:
The Chinese are concentrated in Kulai and Senai Town while the Malay population mostly on FELDA settlements and on some traditional Malay villages along the old trunk road. The Indians are mostly working in rubber estates, factories or run their businesses.
The Chinese community in Kulai are mainly of the Hakka dialect group.

Federal Parliament and State Assembly Seats

List of Kulai district representatives in the Federal Parliament
ParliamentSeat NameMember of ParliamentParty
P163KulaiTeo Nie ChingPakatan Harapan

List of Kulai district representatives in the State Legislative Assembly
ParliamentStateSeat NameState AssemblymanParty
P163N50Bukit PermaiTosrin Bin JaruanthiPakatan Harapan
P163N51Bukit BatuJimmy Puah Wee TsePakatan Harapan
P163N52SenaiTee Boon TsongPakatan Harapan

Other Towns

The main economy activities in the district are information and communication technology, biotechnology and logistics.

Tourist attractions

Roads

or Federal route 1 is the most important inner link in Kulai District, with many access along the road such as Senai Airport Highway 16, Skudai–Pontian Highway 5, Jalan Kulai-Kota Tinggi 94, Diamond Interchange, proposed Kulai Inner Ring Road. The government proposed to open a new road, Kulai-Senai Bypass, to resolve the traffic jam problem of the Skudai Highway.
Kulai was an important stopover on the Johor Bahru-Kuala Lumpur trunk road in the 1970s and 1980s until the North–South Expressway E2 opened in 1994, which bypassed the town. Senai North Interchange is the connection to Singapore.NSE is also one of the access points to the Mount Pulai nature reserve. Senai Airport, the international airport which serves Johor is within the municipality.
The Second Link Expressway E3 is also an access to connect to Iskandar Puteri, Singapore. The Senai–Desaru Expressway connects Senai and Desaru more quickly.

Rails

The district also has one railway station run by the Malayan Railway in Kulai Town.

Airport

The district houses the Senai International Airport which is located in Senai.