The Governor of Penang, officially Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang (), is the ceremonial head of state of the Malaysian state of Penang. The role of governor is largely ceremonial with the power vested in the executive branch of the state government led by the chief minister. The Yang di-Pertua Negeri is styled Tuan Yang Terutama (TYT; ).
Until the 18th century, the island of Penang was part of the Sultanate of Kedah. In 1786, the island was ceded by the sultan of Kedah to the East India Company, with Francis Light representing the company. Light renamed the island Prince of Wales Island. In 1790, after suffering a military defeat at the hands of Light, Sultan Abdullah formally handed over the island to the British. Light was appointed Superintendent of Prince of Wales Island. From 1800 to 1805, the island was led by a lieutenant governor.
In 1805, Prince of Wales Island became a residency, led by a governor. In 1826, the island, along with Malacca and Singapore, were consolidated into the Straits Settlements. Thereafter, Penang was administered by a British resident councillor subordinate to the governor of the Straits Settlements.
Penang was occupied by the Japanese from 1941 to 1945. After the surrender of the Japanese, the British returned and briefly imposed military rule on Malaya before forming the Malayan Union in 1946. During the Malayan Union and the pre-independence Federation of Malaya period, Penang was administered by British resident commissioners.
Since independence, the head of state of Penang, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) has been appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) after consultation with the chief minister of Penang. The governor retains only ceremonial functions, including opening and dissolving the state assembly, conferring state awards and appointing the chief minister after elections. The chief minister is the head of executive branch of the state government.
Princes of Wales Island Superintendents Superintendent Took office Left office Notes Captain Francis Light Superintendent Captain John Glass Acting Superintendent Captain Francis Light Superintendent, resumed. Died in office. "The inscription to his memory at St. George's Church by a contemporary Penang ResidentRobert Scottadds to the favourable impression made by the public records a warm testimony to his worth:- "In Memory of Francis light Esq. who first established this Island as an English Settlement, and was many years Governor. "Memoir of Captain Francis light by Allan Maclean Skinner. 1895. Print. Page 17. Philip Manington Acting Superintendent Thomas Pigou Acting Superintendent John Beanland Acting Superintendent Major Forbes Ross MacDonald Superintendent George Caunter Acting Superintendent, first period Major Forbes Ross MacDonald Superintendent, resumed George Caunter Acting Superintendent, second period
Lieutenant governors Lieutenant Governor Took office Left office Sir George Alexander William Leith 1804 Sir Robert Townsend Farquhar 1804 1805
Governors NameAppointedEndedNotesPhilip Dundas5 December 1804 8 April 1807 Died in officeHenry Shepherd Pearson8 April 1807 2 March 1808 ActingNorman Macalister2 March 1808 March 1810Charles Andrew Bruce24 March 1810 December 1810 Died in office.William Edward PhillipsDecember 1810 1811 Acting.Archibald Seton1811 1812William Petrie18111812 Acting while Seton in JavaWilliam Petrie29 January 181227 October 1816 Died in officeWilliam Edward Phillips27 October 1816 18 March 1817ActingJohn Alexander Bannerman 18 March 18178 August 1819Died in officeWilliam Edward Phillips1 March 1820 August 1824 Robert Fullerton4 February 1824 12 November 1829Governor Fullerton moved the seat of the Straits Government from Penang to Singapore (12 November 1829), after which time Ibbetson assumed the role of governor of Penang, as the sole survivor of the officials appointed to the new Penang Presidency in 1805. The departure of the last Governor is also recorded in the Gazette. The issue of 29 August 1829 carries the following notification: "The Honorable the Governor, being about to proceed to Singapore and Malacca, NOTICE is hereby given that this station will cease to be the seat of Government from the date of his departure, and the charge of the settlement will devolve upon the Honorable Robert Ibbetson, Resident Councillor; to whom all local references will be made." -- New Ways of Knowing: The Prince of Wales Island Gazette—Penang’s First Newspaper by Geoff Wade, University of Hong Kong; Email [email protected], Presented at The Penang Story – International Conference 2002 18–21 April 2002, The City Bayview Hotel, Penang, Malaysia organised by The Penang Heritage Trust & STAR Publications Governor of the Straits Settlements (1826–1830)
Resident councillors Portrait Name Period in officeWilliam Clubley1825–1826Robert Ibbetson1826–1 May 1830
Residents and governors Portrait Name Appointed Left officeRobert Fullerton (Resident)1 May 1830 12 November 1830Robert Ibbetson (Initially Resident)1831: Ibbetson signed the British Treaty with Rumbowe, 30 November 1831 as the Resident of Singapore, Prince of Wales' Island, Malacca and its dependencies. (See Newbold, 1839)1832: Robert Ibbetson, Governor of Penang, Malacca and Singapore.Boundary Treaty with Johore, 15 June 1833.Political and Statistical account of the British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca by Thomas John Newbold, published 1839.12 November 1830 7 December 1833Kenneth Murchison7 December 183318 November 1836Sir Samuel George Bonham, Bt18 November 1836January 1843
Deputy residents and resident councillors Name Appointed Left office NotesRobert Ibbetson 1 May 183012 November 1830Deputy ResidentKenneth Murchison 12 November 1830 7 December 1833Initially Deputy ResidentJames William SalmondThe Bengal directory and annual register Published by Samuel Smith & Co., 183822 September 1834 1836Captain James Low1838ActingEdmund Augustus Blundell18491855
In 1851 the Straits Settlements, while still remaining a residency, was transferred from the authority of the governor of the Presidency of Bengal and put under direct control of the governor-general of India. The powers previously invested in the governor of Bengal were now vested in the governor of the Straits Settlements. 1851–1855: Edmund Augustus Blundell was Resident Councillor of Prince of Wales Isle / Penang until 1855. 18XX–1860: William Thomas Lewis, Asst. Resident Councillor of Prince of Wales' Isle was transferred to Resident Councillor of Malacca in 1854 upon the demise of Captain Hay Ferrier. He would later become Penang's commissioner of police and its Resident Councillor. On 6 December 1838, he was appointed to officiate as resident councillor at Malacca during the absence on leave of Mr. Garling.The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australia Published by Parbury, Allen, and Co., 1838; Item notes: n.s. 25 (January–April 1838); p. 264 W. T. Lewis retired as Resident Councillor of Penang in September 1860. He had transferred to the Straits Settlements in 1825 and had served the Government of the Straits Settlements for about 54 years.The Western Malay States, 1850–1873: the effects of commercial development on Malay politics By Kay Kim Khoo Published by Oxford University Press, 1972; p. 90, 91, 113 He was Siamese Consul at Penang during Ord's Governorship.Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society By Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Malayan Branch Published by The Branch, 1923; Item notes: v.56–58 1983–1985; p. 119 In 1856 he was Resident Councillor and Acting Governor of Penang.The Complete Journal of Townsend Harris: First American Consul and Minister to Japan By Townsend Harris, Japan Society (New York, N.Y.), Mario Emilio Cosenza Published by Published for Japan Society, New York, by Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1930; p. 48, 75The British in West Sumatra (1685-1825).: A Selection of Documents, Mainly from the East India Company Records Preserved in the India Office Library, Commonwealth Relations Office, London By John Sturgus Bastin, John Bastin, India Office Library, East India Company Compiled by John Sturgus Bastin Published by University of Malaya Press, 1965; p. 178JMBRAS XXXIII L. A. Mills 1860–1867: Major General Henry Stuart Man was Resident Councillor of Penang. Major General Henry Man was born in 1815 and became known in 1834 as an ensign in the 49th Madras Native Infantry. He was the captain in 1848, serving in the second Anglo-Burmese was 1852–1853 later becoming executive engineer and superintendent of convicts at Mulmein, Burma. In 1858, he was the officer-in-charge of the detachment that secured the British landing at Port Blair and formally annexed the islands to the British Crown. In 1860, Lieutenant-Colonel Man, as then was he, was appointed Resident Councillor of Penang and served in that capacity until 1867. In 1868, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Man returned to Port Blair as its fifth Superintendent while at the same time taking over the responsibility for the newly annexed Nicobar islands. The following year, his son, E.H. Man, joined him at Port Blair and the old Man relinquished his official position and was promoted to colonel. He was promoted to major-general in 1881. He died at Surbiton, England, on 10 April 1898 was buried at Thames Ditton, Surrey.
Colonial Office, United Kingdom
Lieutenant-governors, Penang On 1 April 1867 the Straits Settlements were transferred from the control of the Indian government to that of the secretary of state for the colonies in London (Colonial Office). 1867–1871: Major General Archibald Edward Harbord Anson, Lieutenant-Governor of Penang under Governor-General Sir Harry St. George Ord at Singapore. 1871–1872: Arthur Nonus Birch, Actg. Lieutenant-Governor of Penang, Malaysia (1871–1872) 1872–1873: Sir George William Robert Campbell, KCMG, Acting Lieutenant-Governor of Penang 1873–1875: Major General Archibald Edward Harbord Anson, Lieutenant-Governor of Penang under Governor General Sir Andrew Clarke at Singapore. 1875–1877: Major General Archibald Edward Harbord Anson, Lieutenant-Governor of Penang under Governor-General Sir William Jervois at Singapore. 1877: Major General Archibald Edward Harbord Anson, Acting Governor of the Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements at Penang 1877–1879: Major General Archibald Edward Harbord Anson, Lieutenant-Governor of Penang under Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson at Singapore. 1879–1880: Major General Archibald Edward Harbord Anson was Acting Governor of the Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements at Penang. 1879–1880: Charles John Irving, Actg. Lieutenant-Governor of Penang (1879–1880)& Resident Councillor of Penang (1885–1887). He was Auditor General to the government of Penang under Anson. He was born in 1831 at Isabelle place in Camberwell, London. He been took up some appointments at Mauritius.