KUCHING: Bintulu has been recognised as one of Malaysia’s 20 Happiest Cities of 2025 under the Malaysia Happiness Index for the City/Municipal Council category.
In a Facebook statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) announced that as part of the National-level International Day of Happiness celebration in Putrajaya, eight districts were named the Happiest Towns under the District Council category, while 12 cities were listed in the City/Municipal Council category.
Alongside Bintulu, the other cities recognised include Temerloh (Pahang), Klang Royal City (Selangor), Port Dickson (Negeri Sembilan), Jasin (Melaka), Pontian (Johor), Ampang Jaya (Selangor), Batu Pahat (Johor), Melaka Historic City (Melaka), Petaling Jaya City (Selangor), Johor Bahru City (Johor), and Putrajaya (Federal Territory).
For the District Council category, the towns listed are Lipis (Pahang), Cameron Highlands (Pahang), Kuala Krai (Kelantan), Bandar Baharu (Kedah), Kuala Pilah (Negeri Sembilan), Jerantut (Pahang), Jelebu (Negeri Sembilan), and Telupid (Sabah).
According to KPKT, a total of 153 local authorities across Peninsular Malaysia, the Federal Territories (Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, and Labuan), Sabah, and Sarawak participated in the Happiness Index Survey.
Of these, 115 towns (75 per cent) achieved the “happy” status, while 38 towns (25 per cent) were classified as “moderately happy”.
The index is based on global happiness measurement criteria, which assess factors such as stress levels, health, family relationships and satisfaction with local amenities and services provided by community leaders.
