GEORGE TOWN, March 6 ― After three years, Putrajaya has finally agreed to grant an island-wide city status to Penang, state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said today.

However, the state must wait for Cabinet's nod before making the announcement despite meeting all the conditions set by the federal government, he added.

“In the latest meeting with the Housing and Local Government Ministry this year, it was finally agreed that Penang be granted city status but this has to be approved by the Cabinet first,” said Chow, who is in charge of local government and traffic management.

He told reporters here state had raised the matter on March 4 during a national council of local governments meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Penang's capital, George Town, had been awarded city status by way of a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth II on January 1, 1957 but this was not acknowledged by Putrajaya.

The Penang Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government has been lobbying to upgrade the municipal council to city council and broaden its coverage to the entire state since 2010.

Chow said an island-wide city status would give the council more power and a bigger budget, especially in traffic management and enforcement.

He added that currently some areas overlap with federal agencies due to the boundaries that mark the limits of municipal authority, and cited as example public works, some of which fall under the Public Works Department, adding anotehr layer of red-tape.

“We hope that with the city status and elevation of the municipal council into city council, we will also get more allocation from the state and federal government,” Chow said.

He also sought to assure ratepayers that a city status did not mean a hike in their assessment fees as it could mean higher allocation for the council.

Penang currently has two municipal councils, one governing its island half and the Seberang Perai Municipal Council, for the mainland half of the northern state.