Kota Iskandar wins

View of Sultan Ismail Building located
opposite the Dato Jaafar Muhammad Building

Cahaya Jauhar Sdn Bhd was proud to receive the Best Tourism Website award for Kota Iskandar under the Marketing & Media category at the second Johor Tourism Awards event on Oct 24 and being recognized among some of the most hardworking and outstanding stakeholders in the Johor tourism industry. 

Its Chief Executive, Mohd Auzir Mohd Tahir, was thrilled that their website: www.kotaiskandar.com, created with teaser elements that highlighted Johor’s rich culture and heritage, worked effectively to entice visitors to visit Kota Iskandar as a tourism destination.

Cahaya Jauhar, a joint-venture between the Johor State Government and UEM Land, is the master developer of Nusajaya, entrusted with the development of Kota Iskandar.  Happy with the proud achievement for their website, Mohd Auzir and his team were pleasantly surprised when Cahaya Jauhar was further rewarded with the prestigious Special Award in recognition of its contribution to Johor’s tourism industry.  This recognition for its role in promoting Johor’s culture and heritage in Kota Iskandar is proof that the award-winning Cahaya Jauhar is certainly more than just a developer.

Facade of the symmetrically designed Dato Jaafar Muhammad Building with Dataran Mahkora in foreground

Mohd Auzir Mohd Tahir [2nd from Left] receiving the
Special Award from Datuk Hoo Seong Chong

“The idea to develop Kota Iskandar into a tourism destination was mooted by Johor Menteri Besar Dato’ Abdul Ghani Othman and Minister for Tourism, Dato’ Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen during her visit in 2010,” said Mohd Auzir.  In subsequent months, Cahaya Jauhar carried out several initiatives like developing its website that was skewered towards tourism, worked with local consultants to present Kota Iskandar not just as an administrative centre but one of Johor’s top ten tourism icons and teamed up with Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) to train a team of 80 tourist guides.  In April 2011, Kota Iskandar guided tours and the tourism website was officially launched by Datuk Hoo Seong Chang, Johor Tourism, Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs Committee chairman.

The impressive diamond skylight in Jauhar Atrium of
Sultan Ibrahim Building

Since 2007 Cahaya Jauhar has been recognized both locally and abroad, with quality and excellence awards for Property, Construction and Landscape.  In 2012, Cahaya Jauhar was honoured with 4 awards, making a total of 9 awards to its reputation thus far.  When Mohd Auzir heard a FIABCI official comment, “You run a Government project like a private property,” he accepted it as a compliment.

Kota Iskandar is an award-winning destination that can claim several “firsts.”  It is the first destination in Malaysia that offers visitors a tour of the State parliamentary assembly hall and even opportunities to attend the assembly sittings.  While the security presence may not be visible, Kota Iskandar boasts of the first integrated, non-intrusive security plan in Malaysia.  It also has the first fully-integrated, non-intrusive waste collection system in the nation and the first district cooling system outside the Klang Valley.

Informative plaques along the Heritage Walk that
borders Dataran Mahkota

In the 2012 Singapore Design Awards, Cahaya Jauhar was honoured with the Silver Medal in the Branding Category.  This is indeed a prestigious award as Kota Iskandar was a first-time participant and pitched against Regional and International nominees.  Branded as, “Johor’s living legacy, cherished by all,” Kota Iskandar has positioned itself as a destination to be appreciated by all levels of society.

“Bangunan Sultan Ismail or BSI building is a key component of Kota Iskandar,” said Abdul Rashid Mammod, Cahaya Jauhur’s Customer Relations Executive, who is instrumental in training the tour guides and leading insightful tours in Kota Iskandar.  “Visitors are welcome in enter BSI and visit the Siar Jauhar Gallery that is filled with interesting exhibits on Johor’s culture and heritage,” he added.  He emphasized that this public gallery has comprehensive and informative displays and there is no entrance fee.

Abdul Rashid Mammod [3rd from Left], Cahaya Jauhar's Customer Relations
Executive, sharing his knowledge on the exhibits with visitors in Siar Jauhar Gallery

Skylight design in State Assembly hall inspired by Johor's pineapple

Since the introduction of its tourism programme, Kota Iskandar has seen an uptrend in visitors with a sharp increase during the Carnival Nusajaya last September.  Guided tours of up to 2 hours are offered in full, standard and student packages with discounts to My-Card holders for the latter two packages.  To arrange guided and group tours, Tel: 607 – 2909080 and 2909081, Fax: 607 – 2374100 or email: enquiries@kotaiskandar.com

A version of this article was published in The New Straits Times, Johor Streets on 21 November 2012