Mayor of Penang Island


The Mayor of Penang Island is the chief executive for the local government of George Town, the capital of the Malaysian state of Penang. The Mayor's responsibilities include the management of the Penang Island City Council's annual budget, which amounted to RM466.3 million in 2025.

Chronological list

Mayor of George Town

Between 1957 and 1966, the city of George Town, under the governance of the George Town City Council, was led by four Mayors.
#Name of MayorsPartyIn officeNote
1Goh Guan HoeAlliance1957
2D. S. RamanathanLabour1957 – 1959
3Ooi Thiam SiewLabour1960 – 1964
4Choy Chooi YewLabour1964 – 1966

In 1966, the functions of the George Town City Council were taken over by the then Chief Minister of Penang, Wong Pow Nee.

Mayor of Penang Island

To date, the Penang Island City Council has been headed by four successive mayors.
Patahiyah Ismail served as the first female Mayor of Penang Island from 2015 to 2017, when she was succeeded by Maimunah Mohd Sharif. However, Maimunah's tenure lasted for only a year, following her concurrent appointment as the executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres; Maimunah thus became the first Asian to be elected for the role.
Yew Tung Seang was subsequently appointed as the third Mayor of Penang Island. He held the position until 2023, when Rajendran P. Anthony was appointed as his successor.
#MayorTermNote
1Patahiyah Ismail31 March 201530 June 2017
2Maimunah Mohd Sharif1 July 201719 January 2018
3Yew Tung Seang20 January 2018 – 5 May 2023
4Rajendran P. Anthony6 May 2023 – present