Major road closures in JB on Sunday for Chingay parade

JOHOR BARU, Feb 12 — Several major roads in the city of Johor Bahru will be closed in stages from this Sunday until Feb 19 in conjunction with the Chingay Parade Festival 2025.

Johor Bahru Selatan district police chief ACP Raub Selamat said the road closure on Sunday is for the “Road Cleansing” ceremony which will begin and end at the Johor Ancient Temple in Jalan Trus from 11am to 1pm.

He said the road closures involve Jalan Trus, Jalan Ngee Heng, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, Jalan Ulu Air Molek, Jalan Yahya Awal, Jalan Ayer Molek, Jalan Dato’ Onn, Jalan Susur Ibrahim and Jalan Wong Ah Fook.

“On Feb 17, the road closure during the same period involve ‘Bringing the Temple Out’ ceremony. It starts from the Johor Ancient Temple at Jalan Trus and then Jalan Ngee Heng, Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Ulu Air Molek,” he said during a press conference at Wisma Tiong Hua, here today in the presence of Johor Bahru Chinese Federation president Ho Sow Tong.

Raub said the road closure on Feb 18, which is the peak day of the parade, will start from 5pm to 3am.

According to him, the road closures will start from the Tiong Hua Federal Mortuary Johor Bahru, Jalan Yahya Awal traffic light, Jalan Lingkaran Dalam viaduct, Jalan Gertak Merah, Jalan Syed Mohd Mufti in front of the Tabung Haji building, Jalan Ulu Ayer Molek junction, Jalan Dato Onn, Jalan Ibrahim, Danga City Mall viaduct and end at the morgue.

He said the last day (Feb 19) for the “Bringing Back the Temple” ceremony from 11am to 1pm will start from the Xing Gong Temple at Jalan Ulu Air Molek to the Johor Ancient Temple, which will also involve Jalan Tun Razak, Jalan Ngee Heng and Jalan Trus.

Therefore, Raub said road users are advised to use alternative routes, namely Jalan Lingkaran Dalam and Jalan Abu Bakar for travelling from Skudai or Danga who want to head into the city centre. Those from Tebrau and Kota Tinggi can use the EDL Highway to enter the city centre via Jalan Stulang Laut, while from Pasir Gudang via Jalan Bakar Batu and Jalan Lingkaran Dalam while users from Singapore are advised to use public transportation to avoid congestion.

Raub said the police will be stationed throughout the ceremony including deploying 2,148 officers and personnel on the peak day of the parade, which will be participated by 80 decorated cars and 21 lion and dragon dance teams.

In this regard, he advised the public to obey the police instructions and warned that strict action will be taken against anyone who causes a ruckus or carries sharp weapons, dangerous and prohibited items.

Last year, it was estimated that more than 300,000 visitors attended the parade, which is an annual event in Johor’s tourism calendar.

The Chingay Parade is a cultural event of the Chinese community in Johor since 1870 which has significant bearing to the Chinese community as it depicts the strong spirit of consensus between the five dialects of Teochew, Hokkien, Hakka, Guangsiew and Hainan. — Bernama