Kulai, Johor State, Malaysia

🇲🇾 Kulai is a town and the capital of Kulai District, Johor, Malaysia. It is administered by the Kulai Municipal Council (MPKu), which was earlier known as the Kulai District Council.

Geography Kulai is located 29 km (18 mi) from Johor Bahru city and 8 km (5.0 mi) from Skudai. It is located in the centre of the district. Kulai town and other towns within this district are located along the old trunk road linking Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru. The main road, Federal Route 1, is lined with many retail shops. There are also many housing estates within the township. The town is surrounded by rubber and oil palm estates.

Economy The locals are mostly involved in the agriculture sector, particularly in the oil palm and rubber estates surrounding the town. Many of the people work in small retail shops, which are located along the trunk road. Kulai has the first settlement of FELDA's (Federal Land Development Agency) oil palm plantation in the country - FELDA Taib Andak, which was launched by the second Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak. Kulai is still one of the main producers of palm oil in the country due to its numerous oil palm plantations. Kulai also exports fresh vegetables to Singapore on a daily basis.

The economy of Kulai has improved with numerous factories being set up in both Kulai and Senai. There are some public listed companies which have their offices and factories in Kulai, such as Yi-Lai Industry Berhad located in Batu 23 (Jalan Kulai-Air Hitam) ; SCGM Berhad which located in Batu 24 1/2 (Jalan Kulai-Air Hitam) and JCY International Berhad which located in Kelapa Sawit

Kulai is also within the Iskandar Development Region (IDR).

Shopping Centres • Kulai Centrepoint (Super Cowboy) • IOI Mall Kulai • Mydin Mall Kulai Utama • Aeon Mall Kulaijaya • Lotus's • Econsave Putri Kulai • TJ Mart Saleng • The Commune (Opening to 2023Q4)

Education Foon Yew High School campus of Kulai located in this district to provide Chinese high school education for the local community.

Culture The Chinese community in Kulai mainly communicate in Hakka Chinese dialects. There are quite a number of Chinese temples to fulfill the religious needs of the local Chinese community, like Wan Xian Miao Temple (古来萬仙廟) (founded in 1913), Hong Sen Tai Tee Old Temple (古来新港洪仙大帝古廟) (founded in 1891), Yuen Sun Kung Temple (古来云山宫) (founded in 1933) and several other temples. Prominent Temples like Hua Guo Shan Temple (士年纳路口花果山) and Kulai Putuo Village (古来普陀村) are also tourist attraction spots.

There are also several churches in Kulai include the Presbyterian Church(SYNOD), Christ the King Catholic Church, Baptist Church, Methodist Church and churches of other denominations. The Masjid Jamek is located within Kulai town and serve the needs of the Muslim community.

Transport Kulai was an important stopover on the Johor Bahru–Kuala Lumpur trunk road in the 1970s and 1980s until the North–South Expressway opened in 1994, which bypassed the town. The trunk road is now identified as Road One. Senai Airport, the international airport which serves Johor is within the municipality. Kulai railway station located nearby the trunk road and served by KTM Intercity Gemas-JB Sentral shuttle train.

Tourist attractions • Johor Premium Outlets • Mount Pulai • Hutan Bandar Putra Kulai (Putra Recreation Forest) • Nanyan Aquarium Centre, Ayer Bemban • Hua Guo Shan Temple, Sedenak (士年纳路口花果山) • Kulai Putuo Village (古来普陀村).

History The earliest settlement in Kulai is located at Sayong River, now at Bandar Tenggara, which have existed since the Srivijayan era. The Orang Asli settlement at the upstream of Sayong River was the hometown to the Malay Singaporean folklore hero Badang. Badang was the Hulubalang during the reign of Sri Rana Wikrama of the Kingdom of Singapura, a city kingdom prior to the establishment of Sultanate of Malacca. This suggest that the settlement in Sungai Sayong should have been established no later than the 12th century.

In 1548, after the demise of last Sultan of Melaka in exile, Mahmud Shah, his prince Alauddin Shah moved his capital from Kampar, Sumatra to Sayong and established the new Kota Sayong Pinang. Kota Sayong was the first capital of Sultanate of Johor on the peninsular mainland. The Sultan later moved the capital city to Kota Batu at the mouth of Johor River.

The modern district of Kulai was a former sub-district of Johor Bahru. The subdistrict was upgraded to the full district status on 1 January 2008 as District of Kulaijaya. The district is recognised as the state's 9th district. On 28 August 2015, Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Ismail ibni Sultan Iskandar decreed to revert Kulaijaya's name back to its original name.