SHAH ALAM, July 27 — The decision to upgrade the Klang Municipal Council (MPK) to city status will strengthen the Selangor government’s efforts towards its goal of establishing a Greater Klang Valley administration, caretaker menteri besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said.

Amirudin welcomed Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming’s announcement on the matter yesterday, with the Royal Town of Klang now poised to be the fourth city in Selangor to attain city status after Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and Subang Jaya.

According to Amirudin, Greater Klang Valley, involving the four local authorities, has been designed to be a metropolitan model in Malaysia and South-east Asia.

This status upgrade will enable Klang, which is steeped in history, to continue to be developed as a sustainable city with vast economic opportunities, he added.

"With the establishment of the Greater Klang Valley, all four local authorities can be consolidated and coordinated through a system capable of improving service efficiency to facilitate the affairs of the government as a service provider for residents from Petaling Jaya to Klang,” he said in a statement tonight.

In fact, he said Greater Klang Valley can also be a testbed for services based on high-speed internet technology, especially 5G, towards offering fully digital government services in these localities.

"The embodiment of the Greater Klang Valley will be one of the main focuses of this administration in the coming term if it gets a new mandate from the people of Selangor, insya-Allah.

"Detailed planning such as this is another indication that the state administration is not complacent and is always looking for opportunities to improve processes and service levels,” Amirudin said.

He said the proposal and decision will then be presented to the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah for consent to facilitate the process of proclaiming Klang as a city.

Nga said yesterday with the proposed upgrading of Klang’s status, the ministry, through its Sentuhan Kasih programme, had approved 21 projects worth RM5 million to upgrade public facilities in the municipality. — Bernama