Sultan Sir Abu Bakar Al-Khalil Ibrahim Shah ibni Almarhum Temenggong Seri Maharaja Tun Daeng Ibrahim Al-Aydarus was the Temenggong of Johor. He was the 1st Sultan of Modern Johor, the 21st Sultan of Johor and the first Maharaja of Johor from the House of Temenggong. He was also informally known as "The Father of Modern Johor", as many historians accredited Johor's development in the 19th century to Abu Bakar's leadership. He initiated policies and provided aids to ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs to stimulate the development of the state's agricultural economy which was founded by Chinese migrants from Southern China in the 1840s. He also took charge of the development of Johor's infrastructure, administrative system, military and civil service, all of which were modelled closely along Western lines.
Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor
Maharaja Abu Bakar of Johor
Photographic portrait of Maharaja Abu Bakar
Illustration of activities in Istana Besar in 1882.
Johor, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It shares borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor shares maritime borders with Singapore to the south and Indonesia to both the west and east. As of 2023, the state's population is 4.19 million, making it the second most populous state in Malaysia, after Selangor. Johor Bahru is the capital city and the economic centre of the state, Kota Iskandar is the state administrative centre and Muar serves as the royal capital.
The Royal Crown in Istana Bukit Serene, Johor, dubbed the "Jewel"
Johor (柔佛国) delegates in Beijing, China, in 1761. 万国来朝图
A painting by John Edmund Taylor showing people in rowboats on the Johor River in the evening seen from Changi in Singapore, July 1879
Johor Bahru town during the British period, c. 1920