Our Beginnings...
Seberang Perai (formerly known as Province Wellesley
) was a British colony in 1800 and its administration was
then located in Penang.
Covering an area of 489.3 sq. km.
it was populated by only five thousand people but this swampy
jungle was progressively developed into agricultural land
starting from pioneering explorations in 1850.
After the signing of the Pangkor
Agreement in 1874, the
area of Province Wellesley was increased to 740.12 sq. km. Population had
by then increased due to
the opening of the new townships of Butterworth and Bukit Mertajam.
The areal coverage of Seberang Perai currently
stands at 738.41 sq. km. The reduction in area is due
to changes in the alignment of Sungai Muda (Muda River)
which demarcates the border between Kedah and Penang. |
In 1896, the first Municipal Ordinance was introduced to ensure
the smooth
administration of local authorities in Penang. In 1913 another
legislation was introduced in Penang and this permitted the creation
of a Rural Board in
Province Wellesley. The evolution of local government continued in
1952 when two Local Authorities and three Rural Authorities were
established. These three Rural Authorities were merged to become the District
Authority in 1961.
On 1st July 1974, under the local
government law the three authorities were combined to form The
Board of Administration of Seberang Perai Local Government
Finally, under the Local Government Act
1976, history was created on 15th Dec 1976 when the Board was
succeeded by and recognized as the Municipal Council of Seberang Perai or
MPSP, the largest local authority in Malaysia.
Today, MPSP administers three main
Districts with
54 localities. |
