Kulai

This article is about the Malaysian town. For the Indian ward, see Kulai (Suratkal). For the federal constituency represented in the Dewan Rakyat, see Kulai (federal constituency).

Kulai
Town and district capital
Seal
Nickname(s):  Kulaijaya, The Turtle Town
Motto(s):  Cemerlang, Sejahtera (English: Excellence, Peaceful)
Kulai
Coordinates: 1°40′00″N103°36′00″E / 1.66667°N 103.60000°E / 1.66667; 103.60000
Country	Malaysia
State	Johor
District	Kulai
Establishment	1890
Municipality status	21 April 2004
Government
• Type	Local Government
• Body	Kulai Municipal Council
• President	Haji Abdul Rahman Salleh
•  Kulai Member of Parliament	Teo Nie Ching (DAP)
Population  (within MPKu Control Area)
• Total	230,000
• Rank	29th
Time zone	UTC+8 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed
Website	www.mpkulai.gov.my

Kulai Municipal Council

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.

History

Kulai Town (Bandar Kulai) in Kulai District

Kulai was a forest until Huang Guo Mao conducted explorations and established a settlement in 1892. The shophouses were destroyed by the British as the Empire of Japan advanced into the area in 1941. ^[1]

Kulai was surveyed as one of the happiest cities in Malaysia in June 2020. ^[2]

Politics

The Kulai Local Council was formed in 1950. The Labour Party of Malaya won in the city during the 1950s and 1960s. ^[3]

In 1947, there was a dispute between the pro-Kuomintang forces led by Tang Zhu Bo and the pro-Chinese Communist Party forces led by Chen Xiu Ying. Chen and his spuporters went into the forrest to fight a guerilla campaign. Chen led around 100 men to attack Kulai in 1948, and killed Tan Go Kim, chair of the Kuomintang Kulai. Chen was killed in 1951. ^[4]

Economy

The Colonial Development Corporation conducted the Kulai Oil Palm Estate (KOPE), a 1,772 acre plantation that was abandoned by its Chinese owner during World War II, in 1950. The CDC initially sought 10,000 acres, but the low cost and the large amount of elaeis made KOPE desirable. ^[5] In 1954, KOPE had 1,283 acres in production that produced 650 tonnes of oil and 3,083 acres were planned for the future. ^[6] A palm oil factory for KOPE was completed in 1957. ^[7] A 5,000 acre extension was launched in 1962. ^[8] There were 26,000 acres dedicated to oil palm in Kulai by 1965. ^[9]

Culture

Foon Yew High School Kulai Campus

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), ^[10] Hong Sen Tai Tee Old Temple (古来新港洪仙大帝古廟) (founded in 1891), ^[11] Yuen Sun Kung Temple (古来云山宫) ^[12] (founded in 1933) and several other temples.(士年纳路口花果山) ^[13]

Transportation

Kulai Bus Terminal

Transportation between Johor Bahru and Kulai was conducted through a bus service until 1933. There was one taxi in Kulai in 1936. ^[14]

Climate

Kulai has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.

Climate data for Kulai
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	31.1 (88.0)	31.5 (88.7)	31.8 (89.2)	31.8 (89.2)	31.8 (89.2)	31.9 (89.4)	31.6 (88.9)	31.6 (88.9)	31.5 (88.7)	31.4 (88.5)	31.3 (88.3)	31.1 (88.0)	31.5 (88.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)	26.3 (79.3)	26.8 (80.2)	27.1 (80.8)	27.1 (80.8)	27.1 (80.8)	27.2 (81.0)	26.9 (80.4)	26.9 (80.4)	26.8 (80.2)	26.7 (80.1)	26.7 (80.1)	26.6 (79.9)	26.9 (80.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	21.6 (70.9)	22.1 (71.8)	22.4 (72.3)	22.5 (72.5)	22.5 (72.5)	22.5 (72.5)	22.3 (72.1)	22.3 (72.1)	22.2 (72.0)	22.1 (71.8)	22.2 (72.0)	22.1 (71.8)	22.2 (72.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	252 (9.9)	189 (7.4)	246 (9.7)	260 (10.2)	241 (9.5)	170 (6.7)	173 (6.8)	228 (9.0)	218 (8.6)	246 (9.7)	273 (10.7)	289 (11.4)	2,785 (109.6)
Source: Climate-Data.org [15]

Notable residents

• Mawi – Winner of the 2005 Akademi Fantasia singing competition and popular singer from FELDA Taib Andak
• Penny Tai – Winner of Best Composer (爱疯了) at Taiwanese Golden Melody Awards 2006 (金曲奖).
• Firdhaus Farmizi – Singer-songwriter

References

1. Peristiwa Kebakaran Di Kulai 1998.
2. Xiang, Yap Wan (2020-06-04). "Here Are The 10 Happiest Cities In Malaysia". SAYS. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
3. Pilihanraya Tempatan Di Kulai 1998.
4. Komunis Di Kulai 1998.
5. Robins 2021, p. 186.
6. Robins 2021, p. 187.
7. Robins 2021, p. 189.
8. Robins 2021, p. 190.
9. Jackson 1967, p. 321.
10. "柔佛古来万仙庙Johor Kulai Wan Xian Miao Temple - 一庙一路". angkongkeng.com. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
11. "柔佛古来新港洪仙大帝古庙Johor Kulai SengKang Hong Sen Tai Tee - 一庙一路". angkongkeng.com. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
12. "柔佛古来云山宫Johor Kulai Yuen Sun Kung - 一庙一路". angkongkeng.com. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
13. "柔佛士年纳路口花果山Johor Sedenak Hwa Kuo Shan Temple - 一庙一路". angkongkeng.com. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
14. Pengangkutan Di Kulai Sebelum Berperang 1998.
15. "Climate: Kulai". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 29 October 2020.

Works cited

Books

• Robins, Jonathan (2021). Oil Palm: A Global History. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN   9781469662893. JSTOR   10.5149/9781469662916_robins.

Journals

• Jackson, J. (1967). "Oil Palm: Malaya's Post-Independence Boom Crop" . Geography. 52 (3). Taylor & Francis: 319–321. JSTOR   40566331.}

Web

• "Komunis Di Kulai". Kulai. 1998. Archived from the original on 16 February 2005.
• "Pengangkutan Di Kulai Sebelum Berperang". Kulai. 1998. Archived from the original on 16 February 2005.
• "Peristiwa Kebakaran Di Kulai". Kulai. 1998. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
• "Pilihanraya Tempatan Di Kulai". Kulai. 1998. Archived from the original on 16 February 2005.