A tall tower
Once Malaya's tallest.
Terence Ong — CC BY 2.5 · Fxchua — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand — CC0 · Fxchua — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chainwit. — CC BY 4.0
Johor Bahru's best-known historic building, on Bukit Timbalan hill in the city centre and crowned by a tall square tower. It was built between 1936 and 1940 as the Johor state secretariat and opened by Sultan Ibrahim; it was the tallest building in Malaya before independence and remained the city's highest until the 1970s. The British architects Palmer and Turner designed it, blending colonial style, Malay architecture and Islamic decoration, with arches, tall windows and a central tower looking out over the strait to Singapore. Japanese commanders are said to have watched Singapore from its tower in 1942. The secretariat has moved to a new government complex and the government is turning the building into a museum, so the interior is closed for now and a visit means seeing it from outside and from the surrounding grounds. It is near the old town and the Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque, so make it a stop on a tour of central Johor Bahru; it photographs best at sunset or from the coastal road.
Once Malaya's tallest.
Colonial, Malay and Islamic.
Being turned into a museum.
Bukit Timbalan, central Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage MuseumA small museum in an old multi-storey shophouse on Jalan Ibrahim, in the heart o4 minutes walk
Old Chinese Temple and Tan Hiok Nee StreetOne of the oldest structures in Johor Bahru, a small Chinese temple dating from 5 minutes walk
KotaJail (Old Johor Bahru Prison)The old Johor Bahru Prison, built in 1883 and one of the oldest in Malaysia, has10 minutes walk
Johor ZooOne of the oldest zoos in Malaysia, begun in 1928 as the Sultan of Johor's priva12 minutes walk
Sultan Abu Bakar State MosqueThe official mosque of the state of Johor, and one of the most beautiful and unu14 minutes walkNot at the moment; the interior is closed while it is turned into a museum, but you can see and photograph it from outside.