Permas Jaya, with the official name of Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, is a housing estate and light industrial area located in Johor Bahru District, northeast of Johor Bahru, and is under the administration of MBJB or Johor Bahru City Council. It has about 40,000-45,000 residents. The Permas Jaya Bridge connects it with Kampung Baru Bakar Batu, Taman Sentosa and downtown Johor Bahru. The Second Permas Jaya Bridge is due to be completed.
The residential areas are divided into sections, with the section numbers numbering from 1 to 15 and beyond, based on the phases when the town was built. The roads in the residential areas are further named with a "/" and another representing number, which means 1/13 is a road found in the residential area 1.
Permas Jaya has a 9 hole golf course and residential condominiums. It also has a sports and recreational complex and a go-kart circuit. Permas Point used to be the main shopping and leisure complex with a cinema and bowling alley but has been closed since 1999. It also boost a sports complex which has a tennis court, swimming complex and library. Currently, Jaya Jusco is the main shopping centre in Permas Jaya. Permas Jaya Management has built a new Permas Mall to attract new businesses. Permas Jaya is a popular choice for middle class professionals and business people (mainly local Chinese and Singaporeans) as well as a small number of expatriates to live in because of its strategic location between Johor Bahru and Pasir Gudang shipbuilding yards (traffic congestion on the Pasir Gudang Highway is a major and growing problem, mainly due to poor driving skills and slow moving vehicles, overloaded trucks and JCB diggers) within an area with a population of more than 300,000. There is a bit of a night life and good restaurants, some with live entertainment. There are also many Chinese styled cafes as well as the Jusco Permas Jaya , which is one of the earliest Jusco branches in Johor Bahru .
Little known is the Vinayagar temple here which sits on hill with a panoramic view of Johor Bahru and Singapore. The shrine is built around a large rock which is shaped like the head of an elephant. The rock was hidden when the area was forested and was discovered by a Hindu woman, guided by the premonitions and visions she had of Goddess Durga. The temple draws a large and diverse crowd of devotees, Hindu, Sikh and Chinese during the annual Vinayagar Chathurthi festival. A Kavadi procession starting from the Senibong beach and a Thimithi ritual are the main events during the festival.
With the Johor Bahru Coastal Highway being constructed, Permas Jaya is one of the most potential townships in Johor Bahru being equidistant from Pasir Gudang Port and Singapore. Cultural Development is also well developed in Permas Jaya with many Chinese Associations. There are many events following festivals such as the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is also one of the few towns that contain a Chinese Temple, Sport Complex, Swimming Pool, and Shopping Centre.
On 26th February 2011, the family of a Singaporean businessman was kidnapped in this area. They were subsequently released unharmed after a ransom of RM20.7 million was paid to their captors. This is believed to be the single largest ransom payment in recent years.[1][2]
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