The Seberang Perai City Council is the city council which administers

Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is situated on the Malay Peninsula opposite Penang Island, bordering Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. Its city centre is located in Butterworth, while its local ...

, the mainland half of the

Malaysian state The states and federal territories of Malaysia are the principal administrative divisions of Malaysia. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states (''Negeri'') and 3 federal territories (''Wilayah Persekutuan''). States and federal territories Elev ...

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

. This agency is under the purview of the

Penang state government The Government of Penang ( ms, Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang) refers to the government authority of the Malaysian state of Penang. The state government adheres to and is created by both the Constitution of Malaysia, the supreme law of Malaysia, and ...

. Established in 1976, Seberang Perai City Council's jurisdiction includes several major townships and wards, such as

Butterworth Butterworth may refer to: Places * Butterworth (ancient township), a former township centred on Milnrow, in the then Parish of Rochdale, England, United Kingdom * Butterworth, Eastern Cape, now also known as Gcuwa, a town located in South Africa ...

Bukit Mertajam Bukit Mertajam ( Jawi:بوكيت مرتاجم) is the administrative centre of the city of Seberang Perai in Penang, Malaysia. It also serves as the seat of the Central Seberang Perai District. , Bukit Mertajam (core) contains a total of 13,09 ...

Batu Kawan Batu Kawan ( Jawi: باتو كاون) is an island in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It is geographically separated from the rest of Seberang Perai by the Jawi and Tengah rivers. , Batu Kawan contained a population of 5,537. Long ...

and

Nibong Tebal Nibong Tebal ( Jawi: نيبوڠ تبل) is one of the major towns of the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. Located at the northern bank of the Kerian River in South Seberang Perai District, it is the southernmost populated place of Pena ...

, covering a total area of . The local council is responsible for urban planning, heritage preservation, public health, sanitation, waste management, traffic management, environmental protection, building control, social and economic development, and general maintenance of urban infrastructure. The headquarters of the Seberang Perai City Council is ''Bangunan MBSP'' at the Bandar Perda township, about west of Bukit Mertajam proper. And there are two branches of MBSP office cawangan which is in SPU (near Mahkamah) and SPS.

History

''Province Wellesley'' (now

) had been acquired in stages by the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

in the early 19th century. The principal town within ''Province Wellesley'',

, began to develop sometime in the 1850s. However, the history of local governance in Seberang Perai only began in earnest towards the end of the 19th century. In 1896, the first Municipal Ordinance was introduced to ensure the smooth administration of

's local authorities. Another legislation was passed in 1913, permitting the establishment of three Rural Boards and a Town Board within ''Province Wellesley''. The four local authorities were: * Butterworth Town Board * Province Wellesley North Rural District Board * Province Wellesley Central Rural District Board * Province Wellesley South Rural District Board The evolution of the local governments in ''Province Wellesley'' continued in 1952, when the four local boards were upgraded into local councils. These upgrades took effect within the following year. In addition, the Bukit Mertajam Town Council was formed in 1953, thus increasing the total number of local authorities in ''Province Wellesley'' to five. The five local authorities at the time were: * Butterworth Town Council * Bukit Mertajam Town Council * Province Wellesley North Rural District Council * Province Wellesley Central Rural District Council * Province Wellesley South Rural District Council In 1961, both the Butterworth and

town councils were merged with their surrounding rural councils, the Province Wellesley North and Central rural councils, respectively. Later on in 1973, the remaining three Rural District Councils were also merged into a single local authority that encompasses all of Seberang Perai, the Seberang Perai Local Government Management Board. Following the enactment of the Local Government Act 1976, the local board was succeeded by the Seberang Perai Municipal Council. At that point, the municipal council's jurisdiction covered an area of over , encompassing all of Seberang Perai and a few offshore islets, making it the largest municipal council in Malaysia in terms of land size. Since 1976, the Seberang Perai Municipal Council was one of the only two local governments in Penang, alongside the then Penang Island Municipal Council which administered

Penang Island Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Ea ...

, including George Town. In 2015, the Penang Island Municipal Council was succeeded by the present-day Penang Island City Council (MBPP), leaving the Seberang Perai Municipal Council as the sole

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

in Penang until 2019, when it officially declared as a full fledged city on Malaysia Day, 16 September 2019.

Areas of jurisdiction

The Seberang Perai City Council administers all three districts of

, as well as the two

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

s off the coastline of Seberang Perai -

Aman Island Aman Island is an islet in South Seberang Perai District, Penang, Malaysia, located off the coast of Seberang Perai. Known as the "Island of Peace", it is a home to a traditional Malay village. Places of interest in Aman Island include Jalan Te ...

and

Gedung Island Gedung Island is an islet in South Seberang Perai District, Penang, Malaysia, located off the coast of Seberang Perai. See also * List of islands of Malaysia A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: Peopl ...

. Over of the mainland half of

is therefore under the jurisdiction of the City Council.

List of mayors

Organisation

The City Council is headed by the Mayor, who is assisted by a City Secretary and 24 councillors. The Mayor's term lasts for two years, while each of the 24 councillors is appointed for a one-year term by the

. 21 of the councillors are selected by the component parties of the ruling

Pakatan Harapan The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the r ...

coalition. Of these, nine are appointed by the

Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (abbreviation: DAP; ms, Parti Tindakan Demokratik; ; ta, ஜனநாயக செயல் கட்சி) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left social democracy, social democratic political party in Malaysia. ...

(DAP), eight by the

People's Justice Party The People's Justice Party ( ms, Parti Keadilan Rakyat , often known simply as KEADILAN or PKR) is a reformist political party in Malaysia, formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party. The ...

(PKR), and two each from the National Trust Party (Amanah) and

Malaysian United Indigenous Party The Malaysian United Indigenous Party ( ms, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia), abbreviated BERSATU or PPBM, is a nationalist political party in Malaysia. The party was preceded by the United Indigenous Association of Malaysia (). It is a major c ...

(Bersatu).

-based

non-governmental organisations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

(NGOs) are allocated the remaining three councillor positions to allow for the participation in policy-making by Penang's civil societies. The current mayor of the Seberang Perai City Council is Azhar Arshad, who assumed office in 2022. At the time of writing, the position of the City Secretary is held by Rosnani Mahmod.

Councillors

, the councillors of the Seberang Perai City Council are as listed below:

Departments

The City Council also comprises the following departments and units.

References

External links

*
iDirektori : Ketua Jabatan
{{Local governments in Malaysia

Seberang Perai 1976 establishments in Malaysia City councils in Malaysia