Kluang
Encyclopedia
Kluang is a town and district located roughly in the middle of the state of Johor
Johor
Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...

 in Malaysia. Kluang lies about 110 km north of Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...

, east-southeast of Batu Pahat
Batu Pahat
Batu Pahat is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies south-east of Muar, south-west of Kluang, north-west of Pontian, and south of Segamat and the new Ledang district. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram, Batu Pahat....

, west of Mersing
Mersing
Mersing is a town in Mersing District in the northeast corner of the state of Johor, Malaysia.Mersing town is a lively tourist town visited by Malaysians and foreign tourists....

 and south of Segamat
Segamat
Segamat is a town and district located in the north of the state of Johor in Malaysia, bordering two other states of Malaysia . It is located roughly 172 kilometres from Johor Bahru, the capital city of Johor State. It is 95 km travel distance via North-South Expressway from Johor Bahru to...

. The population of Kluang district now exceeds 250,000 residents and the town itself has over 140,000 residents.

History

The name Kluang derives from the Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

 word 'keluang' which means a type of flying fox or rather a type of fruit bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

. These used to be plentiful in the district decades ago. They have almost completely disappeared due to the combination of hunting and destruction of their natural habitat (deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....

).

Kluang was founded in 1915 as the administrative capital for central Johor. The main railway line linking north to south Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...

 was built passing through Kluang and this helped in its growth. Roads were built to link Kluang to Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...

 towards the south, to Batu Pahat
Batu Pahat
Batu Pahat is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies south-east of Muar, south-west of Kluang, north-west of Pontian, and south of Segamat and the new Ledang district. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram, Batu Pahat....

 towards the north-west and to Mersing
Mersing
Mersing is a town in Mersing District in the northeast corner of the state of Johor, Malaysia.Mersing town is a lively tourist town visited by Malaysians and foreign tourists....

 towards the east. Kluang is divided into two district councils namely Simpang Renggam District Council (Malay: Majlis Daerah Simpang Renggam) based at the town of Simpang Renggam and Kluang Municipal Council (Malay: Majlis Perbandaran Kluang) based at the town of Kluang which is also the district capital.

During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the town of Kluang was captured relatively uncontested by Japanese forces advancing southwards as it was abandoned by Allied forces retreating towards Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. General Yamashita moved his headquarters forward from Kuala Lumpur to Kluang on the 27th of January, 1942 as he advanced southwards. The Japanese later used the airbase in Kluang to launch air attacks on targets ranging from Singapore to Sumatra.

From 1963 onwards the airfield was used by the British Army as a base for 4 aircraft workshops together with REME and a Gurkha regiment until the early 1970s when the base was closed down.

Geography

Kluang lies in an area of undulating hills.

The highest point in Kluang is Gunung Lambak, a 510m tall mountain and one of the southernmost mountains in the Malaysian main range which lies not far from the town.

The Mengkibol River
Mengkibol River
The Mengkibol River is a small river that flows through the town of Kluang in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is one of the tributaries of the Endau River....

 runs through the town. Kluang is landlocked and has no seafront.

Kluang is served by a railway and roads linking it to all neighbouring districts. It has a railway station as well as a bus interchange. The closest on-ramp to the North-South Highway is at Ayer Hitam
Ayer Hitam
Ayer Hitam is a rest town in Johor, Malaysia. Located just at the junction of route and route , it is known for its many outlets selling pottery and other crafts. It also is one of the interchange for North-South Expressway. It is the border town between Batu Pahat and Kluang district...

 although travellers approaching Kluang from the south may find exiting at Simpang Renggam
Simpang Renggam
Simpang Renggam is a town in Kluang district of Johor, Malaysia. It lies on the old main trunk road that used to take the majority of the North-South traffic going through Johor before the opening of the North-South Expressway....

 more convenient. There is an airfield in Kluang but it is a military airfield, not a civilian one. The air field is managed by the military.

Urban sprawl in Kluang over the last three decades or so from the 1970s to 2000 has been roughly along the major roads. The town center itself has more than tripled in size in terms of the number and land area occupied by commercial and retail buildings in that time. Many acres of rubber and oil palm plantations have been re-developed into housing estates.

Agriculture

Since 1915 when Kluang was founded, the area initially grew as a rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...

 planting district. There are vast areas planted with rubber in the early days under the Guthrie Ropel Group, Asiatic Plantations, Harrison Crossfield and various other rubber companies. English planters in particular was a common scene in bars in town. Notable estates, i.e. rubber plantations, surrounding Kluang were Lambak Estate, Mengkibol Estate, Kluang Estate, Wessington Estate (now renamed as Simpang Renggam Estate), Benut Estate, Paloh Estate, sepuloh Estate, Chamek Estate, Niyor Estate, Kahang Estate, Pamol Estate and Kekayaan Estate.

Among the early Indian settlers who migrated here during the British era were those who built some temples and the notable toddy shops in the surrounding areas of Kluang. You may find interesting stories on the website containing the biography of Ravindran Raghavan (http://www.ravi.com.my), a native Kluang boy who grew in a rubber estate.

Rubber planting has, however, since then taken a back seat to other types of crops. Kluang now boasts large tracts of oil palm
Oil palm
The oil palms comprise two species of the Arecaceae, or palm family. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African Oil Palm Elaeis guineensis is native to West Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia, while the American Oil Palm Elaeis oleifera is native to...

 plantations as well as pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...

, koko
Koko
-People, animals, and plants:* Emperor Kōkō , 58th emperor of Japan* Koko Taylor , R&B singer* Koko Pimentel , Philippine politician* Koko , ape that underwent training in Gorilla Sign Language...

 and tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 plantations. New kinds of plantation such as dragon fruit and organic vegetables are also popular.

Industry and commerce

From its early days as an entirely agricultural economy, Kluang has developed various industries including polymer, paper, textiles, ceramics, industrial paints and electrical products. Most of Malaysia's major banks have branches in Kluang. In the last few years, several stock brokerages have opened shop in Kluang.

Infrastructure

Kluang is served by a district hospital, a district police station and fire station. It has numerous primary schools, several secondary schools and a public library. Sekolah Menengah Sains Johor, a government boarding secondary school with a special emphasis on science subjects, was built in the 1970s on the outskirts of Kluang along the Batu Pahat road.

Kluang High School
Kluang High School
Kluang High School is a secondary school in Kluang, Johor, Malaysia. It is situated opposite of Kluang Police Station, near to Kluang District Education Office and is less than three-kilometer away from the town center...

 or Sekolah Tinggi Kluang is one of the best known schools in Kluang, and the Chong Hwa High School is the third biggest Chinese secondary school in Malaysia. A number of other schools were built between 2000 to 2006.

For shop lovers,Kluang has 3 shopping malls,first established was BCB Plaza, then Kluang Parade while the latest addition is Kluang Mall.Interestingly enough, these 3 shopping malls and other convenient stores like The Store is in the same vicinity. It means you can park your vehicle at one place,and conveniently walk to any of these or perhaps visit all. While for hypermarket lovers, you may opt to shop at Giant in Tmn Sri Kluang,further uptown from Kluang,approximately 2 km from Kluang city centre.

Tourism

Gunung Belumut and Gunung Lambak are popular with jungle trekkers. You can enjoy horse riding activities at Gunung Lambak. The area of Machap
Machap
Machap is a town in Kluang District, Johor, Malaysia. The town is a resting point for travelers transiting via North-South Expressway. The town is known for its pottery factories and though it has some pottery shops, there are not as many as in Ayer Hitam....

 (between Simpang Renggam
Simpang Renggam
Simpang Renggam is a town in Kluang district of Johor, Malaysia. It lies on the old main trunk road that used to take the majority of the North-South traffic going through Johor before the opening of the North-South Expressway....

 and Air Hitam) is well known for its pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...

 and porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...

.

Also noteworthy is an authentic coffee shop located at no. 56, Jalan Lambak by the name of Tong Fong Cafe (a.k.a. Eastern Cafe) which was very popular with British soldiers when Malaysia was still under British rule. The operator is a second generation descendant of the owner and the coffee shop has been operating since 1954.

The majority of eating establishments are outdoor-style hawker stalls or simple restaurants. There is a wide range of Indian, Malay and Chinese food available. Interestingly, there is a wide selection of very good quality Chinese food on offer including an outdoor/indoor dim sum restaurant. The Taman Aman 2/Bat Town hawker stall is particularly good.

There are also a few shopping malls in Kluang town, like BCB Plaza, Kluang Parade and Kluang mall
Kluang mall
Kluang Mall is the largest shopping mall in Kluang, Johor, located in Jalan Rambutan and was opened December 24, 2008. No. of store is about 100+...

.

Nightlife is relatively restricted although there is a modern nightclub and separate large KTV lounge & pub in the Kluang Parade mall.
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