Johor Military Force to get new headquarters

JOHOR BARU: The Johor Military Force (JMF) is set to relocate to a site near the entrance of Istana Bukit Serene here.

The RM118.7mil new headquarters in Jalan Datin Halimah here will comprise a surau, a dining hall, musketry building, weapons and bullets store, a multipurpose hall, an officers’ mess and a watch tower.

Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony here yesterday.

Also present were Tunku Mahkota Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, Tunku Abdul Rahman Hassanal Jeffri Sultan Ibrahim and Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

In his speech, Abdul Ghani said that the four-phase project to be carried out by Johor Corporation would start early next month and be ready in 2018.

“Johor was the first state to have its own army when JMF, an icon for the Johor Sultanate, was established by Sultan Sir Abu Bakar Daeng Ibrahim in 1886.

“Many of the country’s great leaders from the state such as Datuk Onn Jaafar, Tun Hussein Onn and former Malaysia Arm Forces chief Jen (R) Tun Ibrahim Ismail had once donned the JMF uniform,” Abdul Ghani said.

He said the original site for JMF in Jalan Trus in the city centre moved to a temporary site in Taman Dahlia in 1997.

This place had to give way for the building of the Persada International Convention Centre.

Abdul Ghani said the new camp would have more facilities for JMF personnel to be more focused on their duties.