Population decline is a reduction in the population of individuals within a given area over time. It is typically due to causes such as low birth rate, aging population, or reduced immigration flows. (Mark Mather, 2012) In Komtar's Georgetown Penang case, the population decline is not due to these causes. The area has suffered from population depletion via internal migration, where citizens are moving from Komtar, Georgetown, Penang, to other parts of Penang or other cities within Malaysia. Migration refers to relocating people from their normal point of residence to a new point of residence, either across an international border or within a state. (IOM UN MIGRATION, 2025) Those who migrate within a country and establish a new temporary or permanent residence are known as internal migrants. (IOM UN MIGRATION, 2025). This occurs in the case of Komtar. This internal migration is influenced by a combination of push and pull factors.

One of the most powerful push factors resulting in internal migration from Komtar is displacement caused by widespread urban redevelopment. With the loss of Malaysia's Federal Government of the state's free port status in the '60s, George Town began to deteriorate economically. This was further accelerated by the implementation of the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone about 20 km along the island. To offset this, Penang's second chief minister, the late Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu, conceived a massive project that would consolidate administration, transportation, and shopping activities into one complex. This would be named Komtar, after the Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak. Although piling works had begun in 1974, construction work was sluggish and marred by delays. There was a fire on the 43rd floor of the tower in 1983, and it burned up the floors above because the firemen were not able to go that high.

By Phases 1 and 2's completion, though, the budget had ballooned to a whopping RM300 million, so when the four-storeyed podium, dome, and 65-storey tower were completed, the master plan was abandoned. The three residential towers never came about, and instead, a single luxury hotel was built and occupied by the Shangri-La (now JEN Penang Hotel) (Jennifer Choo, 2021) Instead of providing new, modern homes for the displaced residents cleared for the project, Komtar relocated around 3,175 residents, including numerous petty traders and small businesses (Dr Soon-Tzu, 2016). This was a permanent state of affairs because there was no proper housing alternative. While urban renewal schemes in other cities design and incorporate resident needs into mixed-use projects, the structure of Komtar prioritized administrative and commercial purposes. As the residential component was fully removed from the master plan, Komtar was not fit to be a residential area. No new residences were built to serve as replacements for the demolished ones. This eventual lack of common residential facilities led to a chronic drain of people to less expensive urban locations such as Bayan Lepas, Jelutong and Air Itam.

Aside from displacement, other leading forces driving internal migration from Komtar are the better job opportunities in other parts of Penang. This growth is being most actively led by the rise of Bayan Lepas, which is now the island's top destination for jobs and a direct challenger to Komtar in a loose sense. Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, or FIZ, is a technologically oriented industrial zone in the southern part of Penang Island. Together with the Perai Industrial Estate, it is also propelling Penang into the third-largest economy in Malaysia after Selangor and Johor, and reducing the state's reliance on tourism as the main income earner. The Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone is the main labour market of Penang, catering to a pool of skilled and semi-skilled workers, both locally and from the immediate neighbouring states. It was the brainchild of the second Penang Chief Minister, the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu. Phase I of the industrial zone started in the early 1970s. This was the Bayan Lepas Free Trade Zone, and to date, the name has been maintained to describe Phases I and II of the industrial zones. (Expats Penang, 2023).  Lacking a domestic support base, Komtar's commercial lots were perhaps always set for failure. The podium mall today stands in a state of advanced deterioration. Long deserted by traders, the vast majority of the lots remain shut. Through the 80s and 90s, a series of unsuccessful department stores served as anchor tenants. By 2008, around 40% of the traders at Komtar had left the building. The building's design is partially to be faulted. A zany floor plan with cross-hatched indoor walkways makes it difficult to navigate what is quite a small area. Most find such dark empty areas as threatening, and middle-class Penangites have stayed away from Komtar forever for trendier hipper shopping malls on Gurney Drive or south of the island. Suburbanisation of Georgetown's population has not helped Komtar in this regard. Later, shopping malls around the region, including Penang Times Square and First Avenue, have also made the building look unclean concerning them. ((Dr Soon-Tzu, 2016). All these different factors make Komtar less competitive relative to other shopping malls, leading to an inability to accommodate popular brands inside. Komtar is no longer a consumer hotspot that is able to attract numerous long-term consumers from now on. In addition, the area around it is a travel destination, and foreign tourists support the businesses. There were no fixed job positions for the locals; they would have them seek work elsewhere in Penang instead of staying at Komtar. Moreover, Komtar today operates primarily as an administrative complex, hence killing its economic dynamics. Government offices do not provide a lively job environment or long-term career prospects. In short, Komtar does not develop a sustainable working population. Its inability to provide significant employment prospects has resulted in direct long-term internal migration into destinations such as Bayan Lepas where employment prospects are more diverse and stable.

Another contributing factor to Komtar's declining population is the quality of the urban environment, specifically regarding safety and hygiene. Malaymail informs that more than 70 vagrants gather around Komtar every night, cover the pavement with cardboard pieces and use the place as their homes. Most of them were clad in tattered clothing, hair unkempt, and their faces, hands, and feet stained with dirt. (Opalyn Mok, 2020) This can lead to social safety issues among the people, so the individuals are worried, hence this is one of the reasons why Komtar is not an ideal location for individuals to live. This can also deter other potential customers or renters to go to Komtar which can affect the economy here. The Hotline Roving Team visited the multi-storey car park recently, following complaints from residents and discovered that the place was "dingy" with rough cement floors and walls that had been vandalized. (Hafiz Marzukhi, 2013) PDC Setia Urus Sdn Bhd (PDCSU) investigated in July 2024 to find out why there was an early morning water overflow on Komtar Level 27, resulting in most of the lifts breaking down (Audrey Dermawan, 2024). All the issues showed that the facility in Komtar was old and worn out. The car park and lift problem can cause safety risks. These long-term environmental issues make daily life inconvenient, uncomfortable, and unsafe, especially for residents with families and the elderly. In the long run, these substandard living conditions are strong push factors that compel residents to move out of Komtar into more livable, well-maintained urban areas, reinforcing the trend of internal migration out of Komtar.