Klang folk ha-ha-happy to live in one of country’s happiest towns (Poll Inside)

Noraini Roslan

KLANG has been named one of the 10 happiest towns in the country for 2022.

It was among nine other areas that received the recognition under Malaysia’s Happiest City Awards 2022 held in conjunction with the International Day of Happiness on March 20.

The other nine areas receiving the award are Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Manjung (Perak), Kluang and Kulai (Johor), Gua Musang and Kuala Krai (Kelantan), Kuantan and Kuala Rompin (Pahang) and Alor Gajah in Melaka.

Klang Municipal Council (MPK) president Noraini Roslan said the townsfolk were proud of this achievement.

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“The general happiness index measures the people’s assessment of their happiness. This covers aspects such as health, mental state and physical well-being,” she said during the MPK full board meeting yesterday.

She said the theme for the award was “Build back happier” as it focused on the global recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The awards were presented to the councils by Local Government Development Ministry secretary-general Datuk M. Noor Azman Taib at an event in Putrajaya.

Noraini said Klang was listed along with the other towns based on the Happiness Index Study done last year using the Malaysian Urban Indicator Networks, which is a tool to measure the sustainability of a local authority area.

A total 42,000 respondents and 117 local authorities participated in the evaluation for the award.

Noraini said the happiness index was assessed through a population-based questionnaire covering 14 key aspects including life and health; residential area security and public facilities; basic infrastructure provided; happiness with family and relatives and pleasure in working.

“Other aspects taken into account are financial management; relationships with neighbours; community activities; services of local authorities and local leaders and environmental quality,” she added.

Noraini also said the council was certified with the ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS) after it was put through an audit process in the first week of March.

The certification, she said, was crucial in the fight against corruption as it would help MPK improve risk management related to corrupt practices.