As the administrative capital of Terengganu, the Legislative Assembly convenes at Wisma Darul Iman, the state secretariat building. Kuala Terengganu is also the royal capital of the state, being the site of the Sultan's many palaces, for example Istana Badariah and Istana Maziah. The Election Commission of Malaysia has divided Kuala Terengganu into four state assembly districts, which are: Kuala Terengganu was first designated as a local government area in 1928 through "the Municipal and Health Enactment 1928". At this time, the area only covered a small part of the current city border, specifically the historic core around the river mouth. The area, nevertheless, was enlarged slowly. In 1950, the town was administrated by Kuala Terengganu Town Board under section 51(1), "the Local Authority Election Ordinance 1950". Like many other town boards at that time, the process of town planning was carried out according to "the Town Board Enactment 1930". Until 1979, the town continued to be managed by Kuala Terengganu Town Board that governed an area of 5.4 square miles (1,398.6 hectares), with a population of around 53,300 people. Kuala Terengganu Municipal Council (MPKT) was established due to the development that spilled over to the areas outside the jurisdiction of the former Town Board. MPKT was established on 18 January 1979 under the enforcement of "the Local Government Act 1976". MPKT was created through the amalgamation of Kuala Terengganu Town Board and four local councils (North KT, South KT, West KT, and Central KT) with an area of 18,712 hectares covering 21 "mukim" or sub-districts, including some parts of Northern Kuala Terengganu. On 1 January 1985, the sub-districts of Bukit Palos and Alor Limbat were removed from the Council and placed under the administration of Marang District Council. With these changes, the area under the Council's administration was reduced to 16,806 hectares. On 16 December 1996, Kuala Terengganu Municipal Council was extended to cover the entire area of Kuala Terengganu district back then, including the resort island, Redang Island. With that, the number of the sub-districts increased to 23 while the area increased dramatically to 60,528 hectares. On 1 January 2008, a declaration was made by the state government and Kuala Terengganu became the first city on the East Coast region of Peninsular Malaysia to achieve city status.