KL’s liveability rating drops again

KUALA LUMPUR: The ranking of Kuala Lumpur on the liveability of cities for Asian expatriates has dropped again, mainly due to pollution and petty crime.

The national capital is now ranked 126th regionally in the latest Location Ratings international survey by global mobility expert ECA International.

“In the last five years, Kuala Lumpur has seen a drop in the rankings, falling from 25th to outside the top 100. One of the main causes for this is that whilst other locations have improved their air quality, the high levels of pollution in Kuala Lumpur, coupled with relatively high rates of petty crime, have seen the city slip down the rankings.”

“However, the Malaysian capital scores well in categories such as utilities and the availability of housing, so there are still positives for any Asian expatriate moving to Kuala Lumpur,” Lee Quane, ECA International’s regional director for Asia, said in a statement yesterday on the scores.

Last year, Kuala Lumpur was ranked the 27th and the 118th most liveable city respectively in Asia and in the world. In 2016, ECA International said Kuala Lumpur had fallen to 120th globally, as compared to the 118th position in 2015 and the 115th spot in 2014.

In 2013, Kuala Lumpur came in at the 25th place regionally and in the 113th spot globally in the same annual survey by ECA International.