KOTA KINABALU – Kota Kinabalu folk are the second least happiest people in Malaysia, and the local MP says he is shocked to learn about it.
Chan Foong Hin said he is at a loss for words after seeing the 2021 Happiness Index Report by the Malaysian Urban-Rural National Indicators Network and Sustainable Development.
The initiative comes under the federal Housing and Local Government Ministry.
It records Kota Kinabalu residents as having the second lowest score in the happiness index at 70.76%.
The lowest in the index was recorded by Beaufort (65%), which is nearly 100km away, Chan noted.
The DAP lawmaker is also surprised to find out that folks at Putatan, which is only 16km from Kota Kinabalu, scored 100% in the happiness index report.
“I have to say that I am at a loss for words by the results of the official investigation report,” he said.
“In the top ten cities with the lowest happiness index in the country, five of them are in Sabah, namely Beaufort, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Labuan and Beluran.
“I can’t help but wonder what the standards used in the measure of happiness are and why there is such a huge variance in data between one and the other.
Why do the people in Putatan seem to be very (much) happier than their counterparts in Beaufort, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Labuan and Beluran?” he said in a statement here last night.
Chan pointed out that the survey was largely based on determinants such as having a happy family and good health to live a stress-free life, contrary to unhappiness of the people as the result of having a lack thereof.
Factors such as money and local government failures were also included in the assessment.
“I can certainly imagine why Kota Kinabalu residents had the lowest level of happiness.
“The crowded public transport, traffic jams, water cuts and shortages, power disruptions, widening wealth gap, unemployment, higher cost of living.
“With all these (things) to worry (about), perhaps this was why the people in Kota Kinabalu had fewer reasons to be happy,” he said.
Towards this end, Chan called on the Sabah government and Kota Kinabalu City Hall to scrutinise the findings of the report, and review how urban folk came to score the lowest as a means to improve the situation. – The Vibes, May 24, 2022
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