Chow said the Penang government had already tried to overcome the obstacles involved in reviving local council polls, including pushing through a state enactment and taking the matter to court.

However, he said the last barrier must be overcome at the federal level.

“No other state can say that they have tried their best, but Penang can say we have. The final obstacle is amending the Local Government Act,” he told a press conference at Komtar here.

The Penang government’s push for local polls began in 2012, when the legislative assembly passed the Local Government Elections Enactment to pave the way for council polls.

However, Putrajaya said it was not valid as long as Section 15 of the Local Government Act, which nullifies all past provisions related to local government elections, remained in force.

The state government then took the matter to court, but the Federal Court ruled in August 2014 that the state government had no power to hold local government elections on its own.

Under the Act, a local council consists of a mayor or a president, and between eight and 25 councillors, appointed by the state government.

Federal territories minister Hannah Yeoh recently ordered a feasibility study on holding mayoral elections in Kuala Lumpur, which was met with opposition from Umno and PAS leaders.

DAP has long pushed for the revival of local council elections, which has deep roots in Penang.

In 1951, George Town held one of Malaya’s earliest municipal elections, with 14,514 registered voters and a 72.1% turnout. Voters chose councillors by ward, in Jelutong, Kelawei and Tanjong, with the Radical Party taking six seats while Umno, the Labour Party of Malaya and an independent won one each.

The mayor was not elected by the public, however, as councillors voted among themselves.

After George Town gained city status on Jan 1, 1957, the council held its first mayoral vote among councillors on Jan 2, with Goh Guan Hoe beating DS Ramanathan by six to five votes.