Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak tonight declared Malacca a developed state through video conferencing from Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur.

The historic declaration was beamed live at Stadium Hang Jebat in Malacca before a crowd of some 50,000 people including the Yang Dipertua Negeri Mohd Khalil Yaakob and Malacca Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam.

The declaration was made at exactly 8.10pm.

In making the declaration, Najib said he was proud of the leadership in the state and the people of Malacca who had worked very hard to make Malacca an advanced state in the country.

"I on behalf of all the people in Malaysia and the federal government feel very proud to be able to make this declaration," he said.

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Malacca has fufilled the requirements in five aspects to be considered a developed state, namely economic, social affairs, infrastructure, environment and administration.

The five aspects encompassed 32 indicators which Malacca surpassed the minumum standards set by OECD.

Among them were the inflation rate, unemployment rate, GDP, life expectancy, mortality rate and crime rate.

Also present with the prime minister were Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, MIC president S Samy Vellu, Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon, and

People's Progressive Party (PPP) president, M Kayveas.

In Malacca, Mohd Ali said the recognition showed the credibility of the state government and that the development momentum would be continued to bring Malacca to even greater heights.

In line with the new status, a public holiday has also been declared in the state tomorrow.

- Bernama