With Penang Island becoming a city, is anything going to be different within the council?
What’s in a name? Does George Town smell any less sweet now that the city status encompasses the entire island of Penang?
According to Datuk Patahiyah Ismail, Penang Island’s first mayor, it doesn’t. George Town hasn’t been forgotten, nor has its thunder been stolen. It’s just a matter of status; when all the celebrations have died down, it’s business as usual for the council. The city council.
“Apart from the name change, the FEATURE By Julia Tan only other difference is the council president becomes the mayor,” says Patahiyah. “Power distribution remains the same, meaning the Public Works Department will do its work as usual, and the same goes for the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, the police and etc. The city status recognition that we received is the ‘Penang Island City Council’, not the ‘Penang Island City Hall.’”
