Penang's political landscape immediately after the independence of Malaya became relatively fractured. The new Penang state government was dominated by the Alliance coalition (now succeeded by Barisan Nasional), the same ruling coalition that controlled the Malayan federal government. Wong Pow Nee of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), one of the major component parties of the Alliance, became Penang's first Chief Minister, a position that he held until 1969. On the other hand, the Labour Party, a left-wing opposition party, took control of the George Town City Council soon after the Malayan independence. Penang's voters tended to leave the control of the state government in the hands of the Alliance, while consistently electing the Labour Party to run the city council.