Formation In the
1969 state election,
Gerakan, under the leadership of
Lim Chong Eu, wrested control of
Penang's state legislature from the incumbent
Alliance (predecessor to the present-day
Barisan Nasional) administration. Lim subsequently became
Penang's Chief Minister, replacing
Wong Pow Nee. Lim had pledged to restore municipal elections, which had been suspended since 1965 due to the
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. However, he soon recognised its futility without support from the Alliance-controlled
federal government, which had to impose a
nationwide state of emergency following
post-election sectarian violence in Kuala Lumpur. At the time,
Penang Island was governed by two separate local governments the
George Town City Council and the
Penang Island Rural District Council. In lieu of holding local government elections, Lim decided on a massive restructuring of local governments within Penang. The rural district councils were perceived as ineffective and a study conducted in 1971 recommended the consolidation of the two local governments on the island to form a single, unified city government. In addition, by the 1970s, the George Town City Council faced financial difficulties. Despite this, the city government still maintained a skilled workforce, which Lim considered advantageous for a potential municipal
merger. In 1974, Lim announced the merger of the George Town City Council with the Penang Island Rural District Council, creating a unified management board for the entirety of Penang Island. This board consisted of 34 members, including appointed representatives of the BN coalition,
civil servants and technocrats. By the end of that year, Lim's administration implemented the Act in Penang, transforming the island's management board into the Penang Island Municipal Council. The new local government consisted of eight councillors and a president. Among the councillors, two were former members of the defunct board, four were appointed by Gerakan, one was from UMNO and one was an independent member. With the establishment of the municipal council, Toh Ah Bah, who previously headed the management board, took on the role of president of the new council. The hasty establishment of the local government also contributed to reducing opposition to the urban redevelopment project. Clause 3 of the Local Government (Merger of the
City Council of George Town and the
Rural District Council of Penang Island) Order, 1974, stated that : "
the status of the City of George Town as a city shall continue to be preserved and maintained and shall remain unimpaired by the merger hereby effected". However, the BN-controlled
federal government was of the view that George Town had effectively lost its city status. In contrast, Penangites contended that George Town's city status was never revoked. Activist
Anwar Fazal asserted that George Town "legally has been and is still a city because the City of George Town Ordinance 1957 was never repealed". Following the
2008 state election that resulted in
Pakatan Rakyat (predecessor to the present-day
Pakatan Harapan coalition) coming to power in Penang, the issue of George Town's city status reignited tensions between the federal and
Penang state governments. In 2015, George Town's jurisdiction was expanded by the federal government to encompass the entirety of
Penang Island and the surrounding islets. The Penang Island Municipal Council was thus renamed the Penang Island City Council. Patahiyah Ismail was appointed as the new
Mayor of Penang Island, the first female mayor in the city's history. The expansion also resulted in an enlargement of the city council's workforce and responsibilities, as well as enhancing the regulation of heritage conservation. ==List of mayors==