Masai, Johor

Masai <马西 / 吗哂> is a town located in east Johor Bahru District, Malaysia, and is the oldest part of Johor Bahru. It is located 25 kilometres from the Johor Bahru city centre. Masai is located on route J10 which leads to Kong Kong, a fishing village along Johor River. The main access roads to Masai are Jalan Masai Lama(J10) and Pasir Gudang Highway(Federal Route 17).

Many pre-war buildings are still well preserved. Masai, like many of the towns in the Johor Bahru district, catered to the rural population of farmers and rubber plantation workers throughout the early and mid 20th century.

Recent history

Masai has gone through vigorous development which has transformed the town into one of the most populous towns in Johor. The Masai Chinese Primary School now has more than 5000 pupils. Shops include Today's, Yos Saver Store, Kip-Mart and Tesco.

Bandar Sri Alam is the business centre for Masai, with MayBank, Public Bank, Bank Simpanan Nasional and Bank Rakyat and hotels.

The Masai Main Street, Jalan Masai Lama, is the main road connecting Johor Bahru to towns at the east side of Masai such as Kota Masai, Kong Kong and Pasir Gudang.

Johor

Johor (/dʒəˈhɔər, ˌdʒoʊ-/) or Johore 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 of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri (Malay for Princess's Cape). The royal city of the state is Muar also a popular tourist attraction. The old state capital is Johor Lama.

Johor is surrounded by Pahang to the north, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest, and the Straits of Johor to the south, which separates Johor and the Republic of Singapore. The state also shares a maritime border with the Riau Archipelago from the east and Riau mainland on the west by the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca respectively, both of Indonesian territories.

Johor is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ta'zim, or "Abode of Dignity", and as Johore in English.

Etymology

The name "Johor" originated from the Arabic word Jauhar, 'gem/jewel'. Malays tend to name a place after natural objects in great abundance or having visual dominance. Before the name Johor was adopted, the area south of the Muar River to Singapore island was known as Ujong Tanah or 'land's end' in Malay, due to its location at the end of the Malay Peninsula. Coincidentally, Johor is the most southern point of the Asian continental mainland.

Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C.

Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club (Malay: Kelab Bola Sepak Johor Darul Ta'zim), also simply known as JDT, is a football club based in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. The club was founded in 1972 (as PKENJ FC) and currently plays in the top division in Malaysian football, the Malaysian Super League. The club is owned by Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim. In 2014, JDT gained their first major honour by winning the Super League during the first season of the Croatian manager Bojan Hodak. They continue the glory as in 2015, JDT crowned AFC Cup champions and two domestic trophy in Malaysia which is Charity Shield and Super League. Both AFC Cup and Super League championships were won under the guidance of their new appointed manager, Mario Gómez.

Etymology

After rebranding in 2012, Johor Darul Ta'zim FC also implied a new nickname Southern Tigers (Malay: 'Harimau Selatan'), an idea from Johor FA President which mean as a top professional football player who represented the club in Johor Darul Ta'zim FC.