MBPP or MBSP: which is yours, how to complain (aduan MBPP, aduan MBSP)

The short version

If you live on Penang Island, your council is MBPP (Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang); if you live on the mainland, in Seberang Perai, it is MBSP (Majlis Bandaraya Seberang Perai). Report council problems, such as rubbish, drains, street lights or roadside grass, through that council's own complaint portal, app or hotline.

How to tell which council you are in

• Island or mainland. MBPP says it is the local authority for Penang Island (Pulau Pinang (Pulau)). MBSP says it covers Seberang Perai, the part of the state on the peninsula. Butterworth and Bukit Mertajam are in MBSP's area.
• Your assessment tax bill. The council that sends your assessment tax (cukai taksiran) bill is your council. See Assessment tax in Penang.
• Your district. The state's district and land offices list five districts: Timur Laut and Barat Daya, and Seberang Perai Utara, Tengah and Selatan.

Who maintains a particular road or drain? MBPP publishes maintenance boundary maps (Peta Had Sempadan Penyelenggaraan), including one for the Bayan Lepas industrial area. No full map of which roads the councils maintain, and which belong to other agencies, is published.

Sources: MBPP Latar Belakang, MBPP Peta Had Sempadan Penyelenggaraan, MBSP Lokasi, MBSP Sejarah and PDT Timur Laut, read 2026-10-14.

MBPP: Penang Island

MBPP says it runs an area of about 305.77 square kilometres with about 722,300 people. Its council is a mayor (Datuk Bandar) and 24 councillors, appointed by the state government for one year at a time. It became a city council on 1 January 2015.

What it says it does: rubbish collection and disposal, beach cleaning, public toilets, roads and drains; drainage, street lights, bus stops and other public facilities; sports complexes, community halls, parks, open spaces, markets and hawker centres; traffic systems; public health; and planning for development.

How to complain:

• Online: Pearl e-Aduan at aduan.mbpp.gov.my. You need to sign up first. To check a complaint made before 1 April 2024 on the old e-Complaint system, MBPP asks you to call its hotline.
• App: PEARL, One Touch Penang, which MBPP describes as a one-stop platform for all its services. It covers assessment tax too.
• Phone: hotline 04-263 7637 or 04-263 7000; main line 04-259 2020.
• WhatsApp: 016-2004082, as listed on MBPP's hotline page.

Sources: MBPP Latar Belakang, MBPP Fungsi, MBPP Hotline, Pearl e-Aduan and PEARL, read 2026-10-14.

MBSP: Seberang Perai

MBSP says Seberang Perai covers 738.41 square kilometres. Its population page says the 2023 census counted 946,092 people in Seberang Perai. MBSP became a city council on 16 September 2019; before that it was MPSP (Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai), a name you will still see on some of its pages.

How to complain:

• Call centre: 04-269 6969, office hours.
• Emergency or disaster: toll free, 24 hours, 1-800-88-6777.
• Online: eAduan MBSP, an online complaint form that MBSP says passes your complaint automatically to the officer responsible. There is also i-Tegur.
• Email: aduan@mbsp.gov.my.
• App: MBSP lists MyMBSP for complaints, on the Play Store and Apple's store. Its ASPIRE Seberang Perai app is for paying assessment tax, compounds and other MBSP bills.

Sources: MBSP home page, MBSP Aduan dan Maklum Balas, MBSP Lokasi, MBSP Kependudukan, MBSP Sejarah, eAduan MBSP and ASPIRE, read 2026-10-14.

Not a council job

Some things look like council work but are not:

• Water supply is PBAPP, electricity is TNB, and emergencies go to the emergency services. See Who to call in Penang.
• Quit rent goes to the state land office, not the council. See Quit rent in Penang.
• Road tax and driving licences are JPJ. See Road tax and driving licence in Penang.
• Stray animals, mosquitoes and pests: see Stray animals and pests and Dengue and mosquitoes.

Related

• Who to call in Penang
• Assessment tax in Penang
• IC and passport in Penang