Pontian District

For the federal constituency represented in the Dewan Rakyat, see Pontian (federal constituency).

Pontian District (Malay: Daerah Pontian) is a district located in southwest part of the Malaysian state of Johor. It borders Batu Pahat and Kluang Districts to the north and Kulai and Johor Bahru Districts to the east.^[3]

Pontian District
District of Johor
Daerah Pontian
Flag Seal
Location of Pontian District in Johor
Pontian District Location of Pontian District in Malaysia
Coordinates: 1°35′N 103°25′E
Country	Malaysia
State	Johor
District Council Established	1 November 1976
Granted Municipal Status	31 July 2021
Seat	Pontian Kechil
Local area government(s)	Pontian Municipal Council
Government
• District officer	Haji Zulkifly bin Haji Mohd Tahir
• Pontian Member of Parliament	Ahmad Maslan (UMNO)
Area [1]
• Total	932.64 km2 (360.09 sq mi)
Population  (2010)[2]
• Total	144,324
• Density	150/km2 (400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+8 (Not observed)
Postcode	82xxx
Calling code	+6-07
Vehicle registration plates	J

Pontian Municipal Council Majlis Perbandaran Pontian
Type
Type	Local authority
History
Founded	31 July 2021
Preceded by	Pontian District Council
Motto
Setia Khidmat (Loyal, Service)
Meeting place
Jalan Alsagoff, 82000 Pontian,Johor Darul Ta'zim
Website
www.mppn.gov.my

Coat of arms of Pontian District Council, predecessor of Pontian Municipal Council.

The district is home to Tanjung Piai, the southernmost point of the Malay Peninsula and mainland Eurasia as a whole.

Etymology

The name of Pontian was derived from the Malay word “Perhentian” which means a stop, a reference to the sailors travelling to and from Singapore or Malacca stopping at Pontian Besar River for shelter from the rough waters in the Strait of Malacca.^[4]

Administrative divisions

Pontian District is divided into 11 mukims:^[5]

• Api-Api
• Ayer Baloi
• Ayer Masin
• Benut
• Jeram Batu
• Pengkalan Raja
• Pontian
• Rimba Terjun
• Serkat
• Sungai Karang
• Sungai Pinggan

2 big towns (bandar):

• Benut
• Pontian Kechil

And 1 small town (pekan):

• Pekan Nanas

Federal Parliament and State Assembly Seats

List of Pontian district representatives in the Federal Parliament (Dewan Rakyat):

Parliament	Seat Name	Member of Parliament	Party
P164	Pontian	Ahmad Maslan	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)
P165	Tanjung Piai	Wee Jeck Seng	Barisan Nasional (MCA)

List of Pontian district representatives in the State Legislative Assembly (Dewan Undangan Negeri):

Parliament	State	Seat Name	State Assemblyman	Party
P164	N53	Benut	Hasni Mohammad	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)
P164	N54	Pulai Sebatang	Hasrunizzah Hassan	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)
P165	N55	Pekan Nanas	Tan Eng Meng	Barisan Nasional (MCA)
P165	N56	Kukup	Jefridin Atan	Barisan Nasional (UMNO)

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1991	129,356	—
2000	142,697	+10.3%
2010	149,938	+5.1%
2020	173,318	+15.6%
Source: [6]

In 2000, the annual population growth of Pontian District was 2.36%.^[7]

Economy

The main economic activities in the district are agriculture, construction, ecotourism, fishery and marine and food processing industries. The former includes pineapple farms and palm oil plantations, which are mainly focused in the town of Pekan Nanas.^[8][9][10]

Transportation

Road

The district is accessible by bus from Larkin Sentral (Mybas Johor- T50, Maju - 96) in Johor Bahru.^[11][12]

Sea

There are regularly scheduled ferries connecting fishing village Kukup in Serkat Mukim with Tanjung Balai Karimun in Riau Islands, Indonesia.^[13]