Senai is a transit town situated 25 kilometres northwest of Johor Bahru

Johor Bahru

Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...

, Malaysia. Apart from the Senai International Airport

Senai International Airport

Senai International Airport , officially known as Sultan Ismail International Airport , is an airport located in the town of Senai, near Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The airport is the secondary hub for Firefly.-History:Opened in 1974, it serves the state of Johor as well as people from the southern...

, it is also the base for several major multinational electronics manufacturers. The town is located along Skudai Highway

Skudai Highway

Skudai Highway , also known as Senai Highway Jalan Tun Abdul Razak or Jalan Skudai, Federal route is a 29 kilometre partial-access highway in Johor, Malaysia, from the town of Senai to the Johor-Singapore Causeway, which connects Malaysia and...

, a part of Federal Route 1

Malaysia Federal Route 1

Federal Route 1 is the first federal road in Malaysia, and among the oldest federal roads in Malaysia, having been constructed by the British government during colonial times...

 which connects Johor Bahru

Johor Bahru

Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...

 with Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

.

Local banking services in Senai include Maybank

Maybank

Maybank , a trade name for Malayan Banking Berhad is the largest bank and financial group in Malaysia, with significant banking operations in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. The bank also has large interests in Islamic banking through Maybank Islamic Berhad and insurance via its Etiqa...

, CIMB Bank

CIMB

CIMB Group CIMB Group is a regional universal bank operating in high growth economies in ASEAN. CIMB Group has the widest retail branch network across the region and is an indigenous ASEAN investment bank....

, RHB Bank

RHB Bank

RHB Bank Berhad is a bank based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It specializes in commercial banking, corporate and investment banking and international banking services...

, EON Bank

Eon bank

EON Capital Berhad is a company listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia on 23 December 2002. It is the holding company of EON Bank Group...

, and BSN Bank

Bank Simpanan Nasional

Bank Simpanan Nasional is a government owned bank in Malaysia.- History :BSN was incorporated on 1 December 1974 under the Ministry of Finance. With its incorporation, BSN has taken over all the duties and responsibilities of the Post Office Savings Bank...

. Retail shops, many of which sell provisions, are located along the main trunk road. Public bus services that pass through Senai are TransitLink, Causeway Link, Triton, Maju and S&S. These services ply the roads between Senai and Johor Bahru.

Origin of the name Senai

The name, Senai, is derived from a local tree, Sinai, which thrived in the region in the early 20th century. Chinese, Malay and Tamil Indian are the main ethnic groups. The majority of the Chinese in Senai belong to the Hakka dialect group.

Geographical location

Senai is located four kilometres south from Kulai

Kulai

Kulai , is a town in the Kulaijaya district of Johor, Malaysia. The town is 29 km from Johor Bahru city and 8 km from Skudai.-Administration:...

, and four kilometres north of Skudai

Skudai

Skudai is a rapidly expanding suburb of Johor Bahru, the largest city in and the capital of the state of Johor in southern Malaysia. Skudai is part of the new growth corridor of southwest Johor, which includes the Senai International Airport, Tanjung Pelepas Port and the proposed new...

. Expressway E3 links Senai Airport with Tuas

Tuas

Tuas is largely an industrial zone located in the western part of Singapore. The Tuas Planning Area is located within the West Region, and is bounded by Tengeh Reservoir to the north, Strait of Johor to the west, Straits of Singapore to the south, and the Pan Island Expressway to the east.It is...

 in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 at the other end.

Housing

Historic Senai consists of pre-World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 shophouses along the main road, which is divided into an upper street and a lower street by the river in the middle. During the post-war Malayan Emergency

Malayan Emergency

The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....

 in the late 1940s to early 1950s, resettlement policies propagated newer villages in Senai as well. A third phase of settlement was enacted in the 1970s when low-cost housing was introduced. Four main lorongs (lanes) of residence continue to dominate these older housing estates.

The 1980s brought about a major boost to Senai's population, which resulted from the construction of the Senai International Airport then, increasing economic interest in the region. Consequently, this called for the establishment of additional housing estates to cater to the expansion of Senai's infrastructure. These new residential areas include:

• Taman Senai
• Taman Aman
• Taman Bahagia
• Taman Senai Utama
• Taman Selesa
• Taman Sri Senai
• Taman Senai Baru
• Taman Bukit Senang
• Taman Senai Jaya
• Taman Impian Senai

The town is now expanding rapidly with several new housing estates taking shape. As such, it may well merge with the nearby Kulai

Kulai

Kulai , is a town in the Kulaijaya district of Johor, Malaysia. The town is 29 km from Johor Bahru city and 8 km from Skudai.-Administration:...

 district in the foreseeable future. Senai is set to become a major logistics hub in Southeast Asia over the next few years as new transportation links and logistic developments integrating the Senai International Airport and Tanjung Pelepas Port commence.

Education

Senai has 3 Chinese public primary schools - SJK (C) Senai (士乃华文小学),SJK (C)Saleng(沙令华小) and SJK (C) Seelong (泗隆华小), two public primary Schools (SK Senai and SK Taman Senai Utama), and a public secondary school (SMK Senai).

SK Senai which is located in the middle of Senai Town consists of students from 6 (pre-school) to 12 year old pupils. In January 2008, the student count was 892 and 57 teachers. The official website is http://www.sksenai.com

Attractions

A night market (locally known as pasar malam) regularly takes place in Taman Aman every Wednesday evening from 6 to 10 p.m. Vendors sell various local food and drinks, local produce such as fresh vegetables and fruits, clothes, and other grocery items at low prices. The pasar malam is usually crowded with locals and visitors. Also, a morning market selling fresh vegetables and meat opens 6 days a week in Taman Senai Utama, but closes on Monday.