Istana Bukit Serene is the royal palace and

official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...

of the

Sultan of Johor The Sultan of Johor is a hereditary seat and the sovereign ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor. In the past, the sultan held absolute power over the state and was advised by a ''bendahara''. Currently, the role of ''bendahara'' has been take ...

, located in

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru (), colloquially referred to as JB, is the capital city of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is located at the southern end of Peninsular Malaysia,along the north bank of the Straits of Johor, opposite of the city-state Singapore. T ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The palace faces the

Straits of Johor The Johore Strait (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Straits of Johor, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach) is an international strait in Southeast Asia, between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. Geography The strait separates the Ma ...

and has a bird's eye view of

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, a former possession of the Sultanate. From historical records, the palace was completed in 1933.

Overview

Istana Bukit Serene ''(Serene Hill Palace)'' has a huge sprawling garden which is a common site for many royal gatherings and celebrations. The palace is well guarded by the

Royal Johor Military Force The Royal Johor Military Force (Abbr.: JMF; ; Jawi: عسكر تيمبلن ستيا نڬري جوهر) is an independent military force of the state of Johor and the private royal guard of Sultan of Johor in Malaysia. The JMF is Malaysia's oldes ...

(JMF), the Sultan's own private army. Istana Bukit Serene has a tower measuring 35m in height and is among the famous tourist attractions in

. This historical building features unique carvings and is influenced by the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

aesthetic.

History

Istana Bukit Serene was a gift from the Johor government to the late Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Abu Bakar in conjunction with the ruler’s 40th anniversary as the sultan of Johor.

Japanese Occupation (1942-1945)

Sultan Ibrahim became a personal friend of Tokugawa Yoshichika during the 1920s. Tokugawa was a scion of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

, and his ancestors were military leaders (''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'' in Japanese) which ruled Japan from the 16th to the 19th centuries. When the Japanese invaded Malaya, Tokugawa accompanied General

Yamashita Tomoyuki was a Japanese officer and convicted war criminal, who was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Yamashita led Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya and Battle of Singapore, with his accomplishment of conquering ...

's troops and was warmly received by Sultan Ibrahim when they reached

at the end of January 1942. Yamashita and his officers then stationed themselves at Istana Bukit Serene and the state secretariat building, Sultan Ibrahim Building to plan for the invasion of Singapore.War for the Empire: Malaya and Singapore, Dec 1941 to Feb 1942
, Richard Reid, Australia-Japan Research Project From the palace, he had a splendid view of the positions of the Australian Army and Navy across the

. Yamashita used the palace tower as viewing point as it had a bird's eye view of

. Although advised by his top military personnel that the palace was an easy target, Yamashita was confident that the British Army would not attack Istana Bukit Serene because it was the pride and possession of the

. Yamashita's prediction was correct as the British Army did not dare attack the palace. Shortly before the Japanese surrendered in 1945, Sultan Ibrahim was expelled from his residence at Istana Bukit Serene and was forced to reside at

Istana Pasir Pelangi The Pasir Pelangi Palace ( ms, Istana Pasir Pelangi) is a royal palace of the Tunku Mahkota (Crown prince) of Johor. It is located in the royal town of Pasir Pelangi, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. See also *Istana Besar *Istana Bukit Serene *Pasir ...

, the crown prince's palace.Bayly, Harper, ''Forgotten wars: Freedom and Revolution in Southeast Asia'', pg 132

Historical Events

Historical events held at the Istana Bukit Serene are: *venue for the Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar’s investiture ceremony in conjunction with his 55th birthday in 2014. *''Akad nikah'' (solemnization) ceremony of Tunku Mahkota Johor

Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim Major General Tunku Ismail Idris Abdul Majid Abu Bakar Iskandar ibni Sultan Ibrahim Ismail ( Jawi: تونكو إسماعيل إدريس عبدالمجيد أبو بكر إسكندر ابن سلطان إبراهيم إسماعيل; born 30 June 19 ...

and his consort Che Puan Khaleeda Bustamam was held on 24 October 2014.Tunku Mahkota Johor, Che Puan Khaleeda selamat diijab kabul

Berita Harian ''BH'' (renamed on 2 July 2012; formerly known as ''Berita Harian'') is a Malay-language daily newspaper published in Malaysia owned by the New Straits Times Press. It was first published on 1 July 1957 as the first mainstream newspaper in M ...

References

External links

A palace in the sun
Fauziah Ismail,

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...

{{coord, 1, 28, 48, N, 103, 43, 38, E, region:MY-01_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title 1933 establishments in British Malaya Buildings and structures in Johor Bahru Official residences of Malaysian state leaders Palaces in Johor Royal residences in Malaysia