List of cities in Malaysia

This is a list of cities of Malaysia. In Malaysia, there are populated areas which are granted city status by law (bandar raya). However, there are also highly urbanised and populated areas which does not have city status, but are sometimes colloquially also referred to as cities. City status is granted to a place within a local government area. Other populated areas which does not have city status are legally categorised as a municipality or town.

Cities of Malaysia

The following is a list of places in Malaysia in order by the date they were granted city status.

• George Town (1 January 1957, renewed 1 January 2015)
• Kuala Lumpur (1 February 1972)
• Ipoh (27 May 1988)
• Kuching (1 August 1988)
• Johor Bahru (1 January 1994)
• Kota Kinabalu (2 February 2000)
• Shah Alam (10 October 2000)
• Malacca City (15 April 2003)
• Alor Setar (21 December 2003)
• Miri (20 May 2005)
• Petaling Jaya (20 June 2006)
• Kuala Terengganu (1 January 2008)
• Penang Island (1 January 2015)

Penang

George Town became a city on 1 January 1957 by a royal charter granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, becoming the first town in the Federation of Malaya to become a city (Singapore became a city in 1951). However, local government elections were abolished by the federal government in 1965, and the functions of the City Council were transferred to the Chief Minister of Penang in 1966. A Municipal Council for the whole of Penang island was set up in 1974-6.

Although the city status of George Town was never officially revoked, George Town's existence as a corporate entity was in doubt, let alone as a city. This is similar to the position of the former city of Rochester in England, the site of England's second-oldest cathedral, which had been a city from 1211 until 1998, when it was merged with a neighbouring borough. As the new council was not granted city status, and the city through oversight failed to appoint charter trustees to inherit the city charter, the city ceased to exist.

This view was disagreed with by most local residents, who held that as George Town's city status has never been revoked, it remains a city to this day. As city status is a matter of law, the actual legal position will depend on an analysis of the City Council of Penang (Transfer of Functions) Order 1966 and the Local Government Act 1976.

On 1 January 2015, Penang island, on which George Town is located, was awarded city status by the Malaysian government.^[1] Thus, George Town is the only city in Malaysia to have been conferred city status twice.

Subsequent cities

Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Shah Alam, Malacca City, Alor Setar and Miri's royal charters were from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, while Ipoh and Johor Bahru were granted by their respective state sultans. Malacca was declared a "historical city" prior to being granted city status in 2003.

Kuala Lumpur, the largest city, is the federal capital and a federal territory, but as of 2003, most government executive bodies are moving to the new administrative capital and federal territory of Putrajaya.

Criteria

Among the latest (2008) basic criteria for granting City status on a local government is that it has a minimum population of 500,000 and an annual income of not less than RM 100 million.^[2]

Population

Kuala Lumpur is by far the largest urban area as well as the largest metropolitan area in Malaysia. Penang is the second largest city and urban area in Malaysia as well as second largest metropolitan in Malaysia while Johor Bahru is the third largest metropolitan in Malaysia. Other major cities with a population of more than 500,000 include Ipoh, Kajang, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu. The following table shows the largest populated area within a local government area.

Largest cities of Malaysia (2010)[3]
Kuala Lumpur Johor Bahru	Rank	City	State	Population	Ipoh Shah Alam
	1	Kuala Lumpur	Federal Territory	1,475,337
	2	Johor Bahru	Johor	916,409
	3	Ipoh	Perak	704,572
	4	Shah Alam	Selangor	671,282
	5	Petaling Jaya	Selangor	638,516
	6	Kuching	Sarawak	617,887
	7	George Town	Penang	510,996
	8	Kota Bharu	Kelantan	491,237
	9	Kota Kinabalu	Sabah	462,963
	10	Kuala Terengganu	Terengganu	343,284
	11	Malacca City	Malacca	331,790

See also

• Districts of Malaysia
• List of capitals in Malaysia
• List of cities and towns in Malaysia by population
• List of local governments in Malaysia
• List of cities in Malaysia with large Malaysian Chinese populations

References

1. Looi Sue-Chern (24 March 2015). "George Town a city again". The Malaysian Insider. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
2. "Criteria Status for Local Authority". Local Government Department. 30 June 2011. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
3. "List of cities, Malaysia (2010)" (PDF). Department of Statistics, Malaysia. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2013.

External links

• Map
• Population of cities in Malaysia from World Gazetteer