Segamat (town)

Segamat
Segamat Town
Bandar Segamat
Johor Crown Monument at Batu Hampar Rock Garden
Segamat Square
Downtown Segamat
Segamat railway station
Segamat Jamek Mosque
Coat of arms of Segamat
Motto: 
Khidmat Untuk Rakyat
Serve the People
(motto of Segamat Municipal Council)
Location of Segamat in Johor
Segamat is located in Johor
Segamat
Segamat
   Segamat in    Johor
Segamat is located in Malaysia
Segamat
Segamat
Segamat (Malaysia)
Segamat is located in Southeast Asia
Segamat
Segamat
Segamat (Southeast Asia)
Segamat is located in Asia
Segamat
Segamat
Segamat (Asia)
Coordinates: 2°30′40″N 102°48′50″E / 2.51111°N 102.81389°E / 2.51111; 102.81389
Country Malaysia
State Johor
DistrictSegamat District
Establishment1912
Granted district council status1 January 1977
Granted municipal status1 January 2018
Government
 • TypeMunicipal council
 • BodySegamat Municipal Council
 • PresidentMohd Helmi Sha'ri @ Shangari
(Since 1 January 2024)
Area
 • District
2,851 km2 (1,101 sq mi)
 • Urban
265.53 km2 (102.52 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[1]
 • District
197,762
 • Density69.37/km2 (179.7/sq mi)
 • Urban
95,265
 • Rural
102,497
Postcode
85xxx
734xx (Gemas and Batu Anam)
Telephone area code+60-07
+60-06 (Batu Anam)
Vehicle registrationJ
Websitempsegamat.gov.my

Segamat is a town and district capital and the main economic centre of Segamat District, the northernmost district of the Malaysian state of Johor.

History

Buyong Adil in his book "Sejarah Alam Melayu" wrote that Segamat is one of the nine states that became a part of Negeri Sembilan as a result of a legendary event. Martin Lister, the British Resident of Negeri Sembilan between 1895 and 1897 also mentioned that Segamat was one of the states that was said to be collectively known as Negeri Sembilan in the past which was controlled by Temenggong Abdul Rahman and appointed a local governor, Temenggong Konit to administer Segamat and Muar from 1801. Segamat was then seceded to Johor by the British, along with Ulu Pahang (Bera and Temerloh) to Pahang, Beranang (Kajang, Semenyih and Hulu Langat) and Klang (Sepang and Kuala Langat) to Selangor excluding Lukut which is now part of Port Dickson.[2]

The local council of Segamat, Segamat Municipal Council was originally a Town Board established in 1912 to register vehicles and dogs, provide street lighting, manage water supply, fire services and public markets. Only in 1925, the control of public health was made one of its main functions. Then in 1935, the control of public and private roads, buildings, urban development, urban planning and other services and facilities were added to the list of functions and responsibilities.[3]

A flood in Segamat happened in March 2023 and was the worst in 17 years.[4]

Government and politics

Segamat Municipal Council

Majlis Perbandaran Segamat
Coat of arms or logo
Emblem
Type
Type
History
Founded1 January 2018
Preceded bySegamat District Council
Leadership
President
Mohd Helmi Sha'ri @ Shangari
(Since 1 January 2024)
Secretary
Mohd Fazle Mohd Yusop
Structure
Seats24
Political groups
Councillors:

  BN (24)

Length of term
1 April 2024–31 December 2025
Motto
Khidmat Untuk Rakyat
(Serve the People)
Meeting place
Wisma MPS, No 1, Jalan Abdullah, 85000 Segamat, Johor Darul Ta'zim
Website
mpsegamat.gov.my

Segamat Municipal Council (Malay: Majlis Perbandaran Segamat), formerly known as the Segamat Town Board (Malay: Lembaga Bandaran Segamat) from 1912 until 1951, Segamat Town Council (Malay: Majlis Bandaran Segamat) from 1951 until 1976, the North Segamat District Council (Malay: Majlis Daerah Segamat Utara) from 1 January 1977 until 29 November 2000 and the Segamat District Council (Malay: Majlis Daerah Segamat) from 30 November 2000 until 31 December 2017, is the local authority of Segamat town.[5][6]

Emblem history

The former emblem of Segamat District Council consisted of three octagons on a pole or pillar, each contained from left to right a Spanish Cherry (Malay: Bunga Tanjung, said to be the State flower of Johor), buildings and durian (said to be the most popular fruit in Segamat District) encircled by the name of the local government in Jawi and Romanised Malay.[7]

Upon the upgradation of Segamat District Council as the Segamat Municipal Council on 1 January 2018, the newly established municipal council adopted an emblem with a completely new design that looks like the Coat of arms of Johor. It consists of a shield with colours of the Segamat District Flag (divided per bend in red and white) charged with a combined image of tree, buildings, human figures and cogwheel in Gold and White colour (symbolising urban planning) under the Council's motto in Jawi Malay – Khidmat Untuk Rakyat (Serve the People) and a yellow crescent and star. The shield is supported by two Johor State arms tigers on both sides and is topped by the Johor Royal Crown. At the bottom of the shield is a blue ribbon decorated with black pepper wreaths as the state's agricultural product, written with the name of the Municipal Council in both Jawi and Romanised Malay.[8]

Operational and control areas

The Segamat Municipal Council operational area covers an area of 148.20 square kilometres with 70.10 square kilometres in Segamat City while 78.10 square kilometres are in small centres. The Segamat Municipal Council control area, which is an area that is not serviced but is subject to the MPS by-laws, covers an area of 1,268.28 square kilometres. The total area of the MPS area is 1,416.48 square kilometres.[9]

As of 2025, Segamat is divided into 24 zones represented by 24 councillors to act as mediators between residents and the municipal council.[10] The councillors for the 1 April 2024 to 31 December 2025 session are as below:

Zone Councillor Political affiliation
Jalan Pemuda-Gubah Rahana Mohamed UMNO
Town Centre Eric Teo Kim San MCA
Taman Utama Khairul Anwar Othman UMNO
Jalan Muar Norshida Ibrahim UMNO
Gemereh Batu 7 Roeny Md Zein UMNO
Jementah See Ann Giap MCA
Taman Yayasan Samsuri Ismail UMNO
Bukit Jementah Hajar Mohamed UMNO
Buloh Kasap Loo Geok Lin MCA
Tasek Alai Mohd Nordin Salamon UMNO
Batu Anam Sasidharan Achutan MIC
Kampung Kenangan Mohd Aidil Othman UMNO
Gemas Baru Mohamad Gazali Maslan UMNO
Kampung Abdullah Tay Kok Wea MCA
Kampung Jawa Ahmad Sukaimi Othman UMNO
Tahang Rimau Muhamad Syaznie Saklani UMNO
Kampung Tengah-Tunku Tiga Tan Mei Lee MCA
Jabi Yoong Soong Siang MCA
Segamat Baru Suhaimi Abd Kadir UMNO
Bandar IOI West Viren Vellayutham MIC
Bandar IOI East Thang Sin Fong MCA
IOI Segamat Estate Arumugam Selvarajan MIC
Bukit Siput Tong Liang Fook MCA
Pogoh Zaini Ahmad@Akman UMNO

References

  1. ^ "The population development of Segamat as well as related information and services". www.citypopulation.de/. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Info Segamat". Portal Rasmi Majlis Daerah Segamat (MDS) (in Malay). 1 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Latar Belakang". Portal Rasmi Majlis Perbandaran Segamat (MPS) (in Malay). 1 January 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  4. ^ Hamid, Reza A. (2 March 2023). "Banjir Segamat terburuk selepas 17 tahun". MalaysiaGazette. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Local Authorities Should Function As A Government - Khaled". Archived from the original on 1 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Latar Belakang".
  7. ^ "Logo". mdsegamat.gov.my. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "Logo". mpsegamat.gov.my.
  9. ^ MPS >> Profil >> Latar Belakang
  10. ^ "Councillor Profile". mpsegamat.gov.my.