The state government consists of only two branches - executive and legislative. The Penang State Executive Council forms the executive branch, whilst the Penang State Legislative Assembly is the legislature of the state government. Penang's head of government is the chief minister. The state government does not have a judiciary branch, as Malaysia's judicial system is a federalised system operating uniformly throughout the country.[2][3]
The Komtar Tower houses the Office of the Chief Minister of Penang, as well as other state government offices.
The Chief Minister is the head of government in Penang. He is officially appointed by the Governor, Penang's head of state, on the basis of the latter's judgement that the former commands the confidence of the majority of the State Assemblymen in the Penang State Legislative Assembly.[4] The Chief Minister and his Executive Council shall be collectively responsible to Legislative Assembly. The Office of the Chief Minister is situated inside Komtar in George Town.
The current Chief Minister of Penang is Chow Kon Yeow of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which controls the most seats in the State Legislative Assembly among the Pakatan Harapan (PH) component parties. Chow was sworn in on 14 May 2018, after the 2018 State Election that saw the PH coalition retaining power in Penang.[5] To this day, Penang remains the only Malaysian state where the position of the head of government has been continuously held by an ethnic Chinese since the nation's independence in 1957.[6]
Notably, Penang is also the only Malaysian state which appoints two Deputy Chief Ministers - one representing the Malay community and the other an ethnic Indian.[7] This serves to shape a top leadership consisting of various backgrounds, representing the diverse ethnicities of the state.
The legislature has a maximum mandate of five years by law and follows a multi-party system; the ruling party (or coalition) is elected through a first-past-the-post system.[4] The Governor may dissolve the legislature at any time and usually does so upon the advice of the Chief Minister.
A Speaker is elected by the Legislative Assembly to preside over the proceedings and debates of the legislature. The Speaker may or may not be an elected State Assemblyman; in the case of the latter, the elected Speaker shall become a member of the Legislative Assembly additional to the elected State Assemblymen already in the legislature.[4]
Relationship with the Malaysian federal government
Penang has had turbulent relations with the Malaysian federal government ever since the former's inclusion into the Malayan federation in 1948. It has endured a secession attempt, periods of partisanship and fiscal imbalances brought about by Malaysia's highly-centralised power structure.[38][39]
The merger of Penang into the Federation of Malaya in 1948 caused discontent among George Town's business community. There were concerns that the city's free port status would be threatened by federal interference, while the Peranakans feared that non-Malay rights would be eroded under the new federation.[40] Consequently, a secession movement was formed in the months after the merger. The movement sought to gain support from the British government and attempted to move a motion of secession through Penang's legislature, but eventually petered out. The British adamantly opposed the secession of Penang and in 1951, Secretary of State for the ColoniesJim Griffiths stated that Penang's fate was “indissolubly linked with the mainland of Malaya”.[40][41]
In 1969, the Malaysian federal government revoked George Town's free port status, sparking the city's decline and widespread unemployment within the state. Economic development was redirected towards Port Klang and Kuala Lumpur by the federal government.[42][43] The deteriorating economy became a major issue in the 1969 election, leading to the opposition party Gerakan taking control of the Penang state government from the ruling Alliance.[42]
While the Alliance retained federal power, race riots in Kuala Lumpur prompted the federal government, led by Abdul Razak Hussein, to introduce the New Economic Policy (NEP), focusing on affirmative action-based economic development. The NEP's policies favouring the Malays posed a challenge for the Chinese-dominated Penang state government.[43] Malaysia's centralised power structure also made Penang susceptible to federal-state conflicts.[38]Chief MinisterLim Chong Eu was able to secure autonomy and freedom to implement economic reforms, by maintaining ties with Abdul Razak and ensuring order within Penang.[43] In 1973, Gerakan joined the ruling Alliance (renamed Barisan Nasional) to guarantee Penang's inclusion in national development policies.[42]
Penang once again became an opposition-controlled state in 2008 when Pakatan Rakyat (now Pakatan Harapan) won the state election that year. The federal government adopted an uncooperative stance towards opposition-controlled states, resulting in reduced federal funds for Penang and the bypassing of the state government in development policies.[38][39][44] Partisanship worsened under Najib Razak's administration. In 2013, Penang received RM162.7 million in federal grants, which accounted for a mere 2.85% of the state's tax revenues to the federal government.[38]
Continued rivalry between the federal and state governments led to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s accusations that Penang was being treated as a “stepchild” by the federal government.[45] This situation endured until the 2018 elections, when Pakatan Harapan assumed federal power for the first time in Malaysia's history.[38] Nonetheless, calls for fiscal devolution and decentralisation still persist, as the federal constitution constricts each state's ability to generate revenue.[38][46] In 2024, Lim's successor Chow Kon Yeow stated that he intended to demand a larger portion of the state's tax revenue to be returned to Penang.[47]
^Jeong Chun Hai @ Ibrahim, & Nor Fadzlina Nawi. (2012). Principles of Public Administration: Malaysian Perspectives. Kuala Lumpur: Pearson Publishers. ISBN978-967-349-233-6
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