How Kulai Got It’s Name
https://zenxin.com/travel/kulai-kluang/
https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sejarah_Kulai
http://ilzafmenulis.blogspot.com/2008/12/asal-usul-nama-tempat-di-johor.html
https://www.sinarharian.com.my/article/4174/EDISI/Johor/Cerita-kura-kura-dan-banjirhttps://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeqGhnVapqI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeqGhnVapqIhttp://choongpooifun.blogspot.com/
2012/10/world-of-stories-long-long-ago_16.html
Hi ! I’m Siti Qalesya binti Musa. I would like to share to all of you about our lovely place about How
Kulai Got It’s name. Do you know there are 10 districts in Johor ? Kulai is one of them and the
smallest too. Kulai is located 29 km from Johor Bahru city.It covers Kulai Town, Ayer Bemban, Bandar
Putra Kulai, Bukit Batu, Indahpura, Bandar Baru Kangkar Pulai, Kelapa Sawit, Saleng, Sedenak,
Seelong, Senai, and Sengkang. Kulai is also within Iskandar Malaysia economic zone.
There are many version of how Kulai got it’s name. But I want to share the one I got from the Kulai
Municipal Council (MPKu) website.
The district was formerly part of Pulai Valley, which covered Mukim Pulai and the current subdistrict.
The name Kulai 龟 来 (pinyin: Guīlái) which means turtles are coming was a Chinese
mispronounciation of Pulai. Chinese Hakka peoples lead by Huang Guo Mao migrated to Johor at
1892 and opened a settlement in the area renamed the place after the influx of turtle coming to the
area after heaving flooding.
Chinese village
In early 1920, Kulai which is formerly known as Gui Lai means arrival of tortoise. From history, Kulai
gets its name from an event in which during the rainy season Sungai Kulai was hit by flood and as a
result plenty of tortoises emerge at the river banks and moved towards the town. This flood had
caused the Hainan people to naming it as ‘Gui Lai'. The evidence of Gui Lai can be seen at the sign
board which written in Chinese at Kulai railway station. However, it was difficult to write Gui Lai in
Chinese language therefore the name was changed to Kulai and it is used until present.
However, the name Kulai which taken from the flood event, have its own story. Before 1890, namely
during the stage of the Kulai's opening which originated from Sungai Kulai, had facilitate the locals to
plough the crops. At that moment, the opening of Xin Jie Chang (Pekan Baru) by Encik Tan Yook
Fong, the administrator of that area (known as Gan Zhu), were among the first people visit Kulai.
In 1920, the Kulai District was originally known as Gui Lai that means "Turtle Arrival". According to
hereditary history, Kulai gets its name based on the advent of the rainy season where both sides of
Kulai river will surely be flooded.
As a result, dozens of turtles will appear on the cliffs and move towards the town. This flood event
also caused the Hainan community to call him Gui Lai. The proof of Gui Lai's name can be seen on
the record on a stone written in Chinese at Kulai Railway Station. Because of the difficulty writing Gui
Lai's words in Chinese, the name has been switched to Kulai, and it continues to this day. Kulai also
said to be named in conjuction with the flood events that struck around the 1980s. Kulai River on that
time was very important as it was the center of daily activities of the surrounding peole who relied on
plant activity
In 2020, Kulai District was been recognized as Top 5 of Bandar Bahagia by Kementerian Perumahan
dan Kerajaan Tempatan (KPKT). I’m very proud of it because Thank you.
