Organisation in May 1946 after the Malays expressed widespread disenchantment with the British government for granting lax citizenship laws to non-Malays.
Johor Bahru expanded in size from the 1960s onwards. During the 1970s and 1980s, new townships and industrial estates were built in villages and hamlets north and east of Johor Bahru, such as Tebrau and Plentong. By the early 1990s, Johor Bahru had considerably expanded in size, and was officially granted recognition as a city on 1 January 1994. Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru, the city council, was formed and the city's current main square, Dataran Bandaraya Johor Bahru, was constructed to commemorate this event.
A central business district was developed in the centre of the city from the mid-1990s in the area around Jalan Wong Ah Fook and the Johor-Singapore Causeway. The state and federal government channelled considerable funds for the development of the city—particularly more so after 2006, when the Iskandar Malaysia development region blueprint was formalised. Johor government decided to moved their administrative headquarters since 1859 from Bukit Timbalan to Nusajaya, Gelang Patah, and renames it as Kota Iskandar
