Yew is Penang's new mayor (Updated)

GEORGE TOWN: The newly appointed mayor of Penang, Yew Tung Seang (pix), has pledged to address the various issues which the city island is facing.
Yew, 54, whose earlier position was the council secretary, replaced Datuk Maimunah Mohd Shariff, who has taken the post of director- general of the United Nations (UN Habitat) Human Settlement programme.
Speaking at the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's office, Yew said one of the issues he will look into is the the separation of household waste, in the state's bid to achieve a recycling rate of 40% by 2020.
Yew also said he would address the state's worsening traffic congestion, flash floods, acute shortage of parking lots and cleanliness and safety issues. He will also carry out the greenery initiative and to have more community involvement in local government issues.
George Town was the first town in the country to achieve city status when Britain's Queen Elizabeth II conferred the status in 1957.
However, when the George Town City Council merged with the Penang Rural District Council to become Penang Island Municipal Council in the 1970s, it lost its city status until the state government lobbied for the reinstatement in 2015.
Penang was the 13th city in the country, following Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Alor Star, Johor Baru, Malacca City, Kuala Terengganu, Kota Kinabalu, Miri, Kuching North and Kuching South.