Seberang Perai City Council Majlis Bandaraya Seberang Perai
Logo of Seberang Perai City Council
Type
Type	City council of Seberang Perai
History
Founded	1976 (as the Seberang Perai Municipal Council)
Preceded by	Seberang Perai Local Government Management Board
Leadership
Mayor	Azhar Arshad
City Secretary	Rosnani Mahmod (2017 – )
Structure
Seats	24
Political groups	Councillors:   DAP (9)   PKR (8)   Amanah (2)   Bersatu (2)   NGO (3)
Motto
Seberang Perai Aspiring City of Tomorrow (Seberang Perai Aspirasi Bandar Masa Hadapan)
Meeting place
Menara MBSP, Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam
Website
www.mbsp.gov.my/index.php/en/

The Seberang Perai City Council is the city council which administers Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the Malaysian state of Penang. This agency is under the purview of the Penang state government.

Established in 1976, Seberang Perai City Council's jurisdiction includes several major townships and wards, such as Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam, Batu Kawan and Nibong Tebal, covering a total area of 738 km² (285 sq mi). 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 3.15 km (1.96 mi) 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 Seberang Perai) had been acquired in stages by the British East India Company in the early 19th century.^[1][2] The principal town within Province Wellesley, Butterworth, 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 Penang's local authorities.^[1] Another legislation was passed in 1913, permitting the establishment of three Rural Boards and a Town Board within Province Wellesley.^[1][2][3]

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.^[3][4][5] 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 Bukit Mertajam town councils were merged with their surrounding rural councils, the Province Wellesley North and Central rural councils, respectively.^[1][2][4] 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.^[6]

Following the enactment of the Local Government Act 1976, the local board was succeeded by the Seberang Perai Municipal Council.^[1] At that point, the municipal council's jurisdiction covered an area of over 738 km² (285 sq mi), 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, 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 in Penang until 2019, when it officially declared as a full fledged city on Malaysia Day, 16 September 2019.^[7]

Areas of jurisdiction

The Seberang Perai City Council administers all three districts of Seberang Perai, as well as the two islets off the coastline of Seberang Perai - Aman Island and Gedung Island.^[8] Over 738 km² (285 sq mi) of the mainland half of Penang 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.^[10] The Mayor's term lasts for two years, while each of the 24 councillors is appointed for a one-year term by the Penang state government.^[11]

21 of the councillors are selected by the component parties of the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition. Of these, nine are appointed by the Democratic Action Party (DAP), eight by the People's Justice Party (PKR), and two each from the National Trust Party (Amanah) and Malaysian United Indigenous Party (Bersatu).^[12] Penang-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are allocated the remaining three councillor positions to allow for the participation in policy-making by Penang's civil societies.^[12][13]

The current mayor of the Seberang Perai City Council is Azhar Arshad, who assumed office in 2022.^[14] At the time of writing, the position of the City Secretary is held by Rosnani Mahmod.

Councillors

As of 3 July 2018^[update], the councillors of the Seberang Perai City Council are as listed below:^[12][15]

Departments

The City Council also comprises the following departments and units.^[16]