Will city status for Penang Island bring a new mindset to citizens, to councilors and to officials? That is doubtful. But with concerted and conscious action from all parties concerned, there is always hope.
To many observers, there are 12 cities in Malaysia: KL, Ipoh (Perak), Kuching (Sarawak), Johor Bahru ( Johor), Kota Kinabalu (Sabah), Shah Alam (Selangor), Malacca City (Malacca), Alor Star (Kedah), Miri (Sarawak), Petaling Jaya (Selangor) and Kuala Terengganu (Terengganu).
Now, cities are administered by either city councils or city halls, and the heads of cities are addressed as mayors. While city councils have councillors, city halls have only advisors whose advice need not be followed by the mayors. The exception is Kuching, which is managed by two local authorities – one is city hall and the other city council.
Legally, Penang already has a city: George Town. It was declared a city on January 1, 1957 by Queen Elizabeth II; at that time, Malaya was a British colony. The amalgamation of George Town with the rest of the island to form the MPPP in 1976 led many people to believe that the city status of George Town was withdrawn.
But George Town is still a city; it is only that it is administered and managed by MPPP, which manages the whole island as well.
