Johor
(2000 est. pop. of state 2.6 million; 2000 est. pop. of capital city 1 million). Johor (formerly known as Johore), a state in Malaysia, lies in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, bordered by Indonesia on the southwest, Singapore on the south, and the Malaysian state of Melaka (formerly Malacca) on the west. Its coastline includes the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea, and the narrow Johore Strait separates it from Singapore. With a land area of 18,986 square kilometers, Johor is the fifth-largest state of the Federation of Malaysia. Johor's capital city, Johor Baharu, is located in the southeast of the state.
The sultanate of Johore was founded by the sultan Mahmud Shah (d. 1528), once the sultan of Malacca, and his son Ala'ud'din (d. c. 1564), after the Malaccan sultanate fell to the Portuguese in 1511. The area remained largely undeveloped until the nineteenth century, due to the jungle and swamp that isolated it from the rest of the Malay Peninsula. In 1819, the British leased the territory of present-day Singapore from the sultan of Johore and thereby recognized the sultanate's independence. A later sultan, Abu Bakar (1843?–1895), succeeded in keeping Johore free of British rule.
In the early twentieth century, Johore received an important boost when large rubber, coconut-palm (for producing copra), and oil-palm plantations were established and tin and bauxite were discovered in the state. In 1914, it became a British protectorate, and in 1948 it joined the Federation of Malaya. Since 1970, Johor has been one of the fastest-growing states in Malaysia; it relies on agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and mining, and it benefits from its proximity to Singapore.
Further Reading
Department of Statistics, Malaysia. (2001) "Official Website." Retrieved 3 April 2002, from: http://www.statistics.gov.my.
Lucas, Robert E. B., and Donald Verry. (1999) Restructuring the Malaysian Economy: Development and Human Resources. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, U.K.: Palgrave.
Office of the Prime Minister of Malaysia. (2000) "Government of Malaysia." Retrieved 3 April 2002 from: http://www.smpke.jpm.my/.
This is the complete article, containing 323 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
