Kluang

Kluang (simplified Chinese: 居銮; traditional Chinese: 居鑾) is a town and district located near the centre of the state of Johor, Malaysia. Kluang lies about 110 km north of Johor Bahru, east-southeast of Batu Pahat, west of Mersing and south of Segamat. Kluang district is one of two landlocked districts in Johor, the other being Segamat.

History

The name Kluang derives from the Malay word 'keluang' which means a type of flying fox or rather a type of fruit bat, 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).

Kluang was founded in 1915 as the administrative capital for central Johor. The main railway line linking north to south Malaya was built passing through Kluang and this helped in its growth. Roads were built to link Kluang to Johor Bahru towards the south, to Batu Pahat towards the north-west and to Mersing towards the east. Kluang is divided into two local 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.