A view of Ipoh Padang in the heart of the city. The Perak capital is ranked 22nd among 55 South-East Asian cities. — Photos: RONNIE CHIN/ The Star
BEING in the top half of the 1,000 cities ranked in the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index is another feather in Ipoh’s cap.
No one is more proud that the city continues to punch above its weight in international placings, than mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin.
He said the former tin-mining town, ranked 465th among cities globally, was making good strides to being recognised globally.
“We are in the top 500. We also need to remember that this is the first time we are on the list.
“And we are ranked 22nd among 55 South-East Asian cities.
“It is a good step for us,” Rumaizi told StarMetro.
He also said Ipoh had gained plenty of other recognitions over the last few years (see related stories).
Rumaizi is proud of Ipoh’s international recognition.
The Oxford Economics Global Cities Index is based on five categories: economics, human capital, quality of life, environment, and governance. These are aggregated to create an overall score for each city.
Rumaizi said Ipoh lost out in the economic, environment and human capital categories.
He believes the city’s gross domestic product (GDP) is relatively low compared to the national GDP, thus scoring lower marks.
“We are still regarded as a retirement city, with many elderly aged 60 years and above, so we lost further points in the human capital category.
“As for the environment, because of the economic situation, we faced challenges in improving our surroundings.
“In terms of quality of life and governance, I feel we did okay,” said the Ipoh mayor.
The Index covered 163 countries, with 12 Malaysian cities making the top 1,000 list.
Kuala Lumpur was placed at 135 followed by George Town (351); Melaka (359); Johor Baru (376); Butterworth-Bukit Mertajam in Penang (385); Kota Kinabalu in Sabah (391); Kuantan in Pahang (412); Kuching, Sarawak (419); Kota Baru, Kelantan (433); Seremban, Negri Sembilan (447); Kuala Muda in Kedah (459); and Ipoh.
The New Hollywood restaurant caters to all races in Ipoh.
Rumaizi viewed being last among Malaysian cities in the ranking as a lesson.
“We can definitely learn from this and work towards making changes for the better, to improve the local economy, environment and human capital,” he said.
For things to improve even further, he said better cooperation was needed between the government, local council and the people.
“The responsibility to improve Ipoh does not fall solely on Ipoh City Council.
“Ipoh is not owned by the city council or myself but the people, so everyone needs to work hard for it,” he stressed.
“Economy-wise, the city council can create opportunities in the tourism, health and digital industry and the people must grab these opportunities.
“We can help with promotions and to prepare venues, but the products and prices are decided by the people,” he added.
Rumaizi also said Perak’s GDP had shown some improvement, with Ipoh contributing to it.
“Our infrastructures have also improved. I believe we are moving in the right direction,” he said.
Rumaizi said Ipoh’s uniqueness, compared to other Malaysian cities, was its society.
“We have a good balance of the three major races, which is our uniqueness.
“If we can strengthen our relationship between communities further, we can be better,” he added.
