The Straits of Johor (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Johor Strait, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach, also spelled Johore Strait) is an international tidal strait in Southeast Asia, between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia.
In 2003, Malaysia wanted to build a bridge across the straits to replace the existing causeway, but negotiations with Singapore were not successful. The main reasons cited for the change were:
a bridge would allow free flow of water across both sides of the straits, whereas the causeway artificially cuts the straits in two (this would allow ships to bypass the port of Singapore).
a bridge would help ease congestion in Johor Bahru.
In August 2003, Malaysia announced that it was going ahead with a plan to build a gently sloping, curved bridge that would join up with Singapore's half of the existing causeway. The plans included a swing bridge for the railway line. However, plans to build the bridge were called off by Malaysia as of 2006 after Singapore said it was amenable to the bridge if the negotiations include other bilateral matters such as the use of Malaysian airspace by Singapore's air force and the buying of water and sand resources from Malaysia. Malaysia viewed Singapore's proposal as a compromise on its sovereignty.
The area is also a source of environmental contention between Malaysia and Singapore, due to land reclamation projects on both sides of the Causeway. There have been suggestions that the ongoing land reclamation projects may impact the maritime boundary, shipping lanes, and water ecology of the Malaysian side. Environmental Impact Assessments are requested before any reclamation is carried out such as the Forest City project.
Reclamation and redevelopment projects may also endanger the livelihood of indigenous sea nomad communities and the habitat and food source of dugongs, which are native to the strait.
History
The Johore Strait was historically sometimes mislabeled as "Old Strait of Singapore" which today would be around Keppel Harbour, instead of correctly Tebrau Strait. Due to its shallow and dangerous waters it was mainly used by Orang Laut sea people, specifically Orang Seletar and, since the 15th century, hosted Malay kampongs of the Johor Sultanate. Portuguese and later Dutch colonial powers, while generally focused on the "New Strait" (today's Singapore Strait) sometimes tried to block access to the Johore Strait to force trade southwards.
The Johore Strait has considerably changed depth and narrowed over time due to reclamation and construction. It has also accumulated sediment after the construction of the causeway which changed its ecology significantly.
Places of interest
A well known tourist attraction of the Strait of Johore's is Lido Beach, located on the Malaysian side in Johor Bahru.
The Strait of Johor still hosts a few indigenous Orang Seletar sea nomad communities endangered by reclamation and reconstruction projects, for example in Kampungs Sungai Melayu, Sungai Temon or Jawa.
↑"Press Releases". MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER RESOURCES. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
↑Ponnampalam, Louisa S.; Fairul Izmal, J.H.; Adulyanukosol, Kanjana; Ooi, Jillian L.S.; Reynolds, John E. III (October 2015). "Aligning conservation and research priorities for proactive species and habitat management: the case of dugongs Dugong dugon in Johor, Malaysia". Oryx. 49 (4): 743–749. doi:10.1017/S0030605313001580.
↑Hashim, Mazlan; Ito, Shuhei; Numata, Shinya; Hosaka, Tetsuro; Hossain, Mohamad S.; Misbari, Syarifuddin; Yahya, Nurul N.; Ahmad, Samsudin (2017). "Using fisher knowledge, mapping population, habitat suitability and risk for the conservation of dugongs in Johor Straits of Malaysia". Marine Policy. 78: 18–25. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2017.01.002.
↑Cornelius-Takahama, Vernon. "Strait of Johor". Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board of Singapore.
↑Gibson-Hill, C.A. (1956). Singapore: Old Strait & New Harbour, 1300–1870. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
↑Borschberg, Peter (2010). The Singapore and Melaka Straits: Violence, Security and Diplomacy in the 17th Century (Reprint 2025ed.). Singapore: National University of Singapore Press. p.41.
↑Wang, X.G.; Su, F.Z.; Zhang, J.J.; Cheng, F.; Hu, W.Q.; Ding, Z. (April 2019). "Construction land sprawl and reclamation in the Johor River Estuary of Malaysia since 1973". Ocean & Coastal Management. 171: 87–95. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.01.006.
