History

The History of Muar

Muar, is a historical town and the capital of Muar District, Johor, Malaysia. Located at the estuary of the Muar River in the northwest of Johor. The origin of the city name of Muar comes from "Muara" in Malay, which means "estuary".

Early History: In 1361, it was claimed that Muar was a part of the Majapahit Empire.

European Invasion: During the Portuguese's Afonso de Albuquerque invasion and attack in 1511, Muar played a role in resisting the Portuguese occupation of Malacca; the Kubu Bentayan fort was built by the last Sultan of Malacca, Sultan Mahmud to repel seaborne invasions, before he was defeated and retreat further to Pagoh, this time witnessing the fall of the Malacca Sultanate Empire.

During the 1880s, the sovereign rulers of Johor, Temenggong Ibrahim and his successor, Sultan Abu Bakar introduced the Kangchu system and actively encouraged the Chinese leaders to set up new gambier and black pepper plantations and to bring in the Chinese immigrants as agricultural settlers and labourers to open and work in these plantations in Muar.

Modern Muar Town, known as Bandar Maharani, which is the main city centre of Muar district, was founded by Dato' Bentara Luar, Muhamad Salleh bin Perang in 1885 and was only officially opened by His Majesty Maharaja Abu Bakar 12 August 1887 (who just became opted Maharaja title on 30 June 1868) and conferred the namesake Bandar Maharani meaning the Town of Empress, the title of Maharani Fatimah who had accompanied to graced the inauguration ceremony of the new town.

Japanese occupation of Malaya era: During 1942–45, Muar continued to serve as an important administration town under the occupying Japanese army with many locals involved in the bulk of anti-Japanese resistance groups such as the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) and Force 136.