This is a list of cities of Malaysia. In Malaysia, there are 18 areas with city status (bandar raya) by law. However, there are also highly urbanised and populated areas that do not have city status but are sometimes referred to as cities. City status is granted to a place within a local government area. Other populated areas which do not have city status are municipalities or towns.
Cities of Malaysia
The following is a list of places in Malaysia in order by the date they were given city status.
Former city within Malaysia
Subsequent cities
The royal charters for Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Shah Alam, Malacca City, Alor Setar and Miri were from the Malaysian head of state, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, while Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Iskandar Puteri and Subang Jaya were granted by their respective state sultans. Malacca City was declared a "historical city" prior to being granted city status in 2003.
Kuala Lumpur, the largest city, is the national capital and a federal territory. But as of 2012, most government ministries have relocated to the new administrative capital of Putrajaya.
Criteria
Among the latest (2008) basic criteria for 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.
Locations of cities
Population
Kuala Lumpur is by far the largest urban area. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Malaysia. George Town, the capital city of Penang, is the second-largest city in Malaysia and the heart of Malaysia's second-largest conurbation. To the south, the twin cities of Johor Bahru and Iskandar Puteri form the core of the third-largest metropolitan area in the country. Other metropolitan areas with a population of more than 500,000 include Ipoh, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu.