Based on that, this has met the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as a guide in striving especially developing countries and transitions that bring a variety of changing environments and increasing inequality and also help create better opportunities for local communities. The SDGs provide an overview of the momentum to continue working towards achieving the goals in order to create a better world for the entire world's population (NTU International, 2023). Through this study, the 11th SDG "Sustainable Cities and Communities" is very suitable for this study. This is the case, the world's population is constantly increasing which must accommodate all the population and build a sustainable modern city to provide continued progress and prosperity to the future population which requires new and smart urban planning in which to create a safe, affordable and resilient city with green and culturally inspired living conditions (The Global Goals, 2025). For example, there is an increase in population and migration in Komtar, Georgetown Penang has caused many profound effects such as changes in traffic, public facilities, job opportunities, and social problems. Not only that, Komtar, Georgetown Penang has become a busy area which makes the area one of the biggest factors of change and more and more people move in. In general, Komtar, Georgetown Penang, should take care of public places for residents to contribute to a better public space.

Apart from that, among the effects of population growth in Komtar, Georgetown Penang is traffic congestion and unsupervised use of public facilities. This is the case, the residents around Komtar, Georgetown Penang are residents who come only to work, shop and use public services around there because it is the main bus service point. Because of this, the roads in the area are increasingly congested, especially at peak times such as in the morning and evening. This leads to the disadvantage that there will be a high population density from all the places that come such as migration which describes the congestion in the middle of the city and leads to pressure on the infrastructure (Narimah Samat el al., 2019). Based on the news, The Star, traffic congestion around Komtar is the worst in Malaysia according to the TomTom Traffic Index. This is because the roads around Komtar are old and narrow, and they cannot handle the growing number of vehicles. Many people are living and working in the city caused the roads near Komtar are often crowded with buses, cars, lorries, and also the rise of online shopping has increased the number of delivery trucks, which cause long travel times and heavy traffic every day  (Shahrul Yani Said et al., 2013). For example, as a result, many of the residents experience disruptions to time. After all, they have to wait for a long time at the bus stop which makes some residents around the local area feel stressed because they face difficulties and congestion in such a way that it tends to add stress and lower the quality of life for those who work here or travel here every day. To support SDG 11, George Town needs to upgrade its roads, and create better traffic management systems to reduce these traffic congestion issues. This would help the city become more sustainable and improve the quality of life for everyone (The Global Goals, 202).

Not only that, this effect leads to population and migration problems, economic competition and job pressure. This being so, there are foreigners from outside Malaysia who mostly work in food stalls, shopping mall cleaners, construction, and retail in Komtar. At the same time, these low-paid jobs are mostly taken by foreign workers, who may put pressure on the jobs for local people because of cheaper labor wages than local people. Therefore, the situation has become more difficult to find a job with a good salary nowadays for local residents which leads to the demand for work pressure. As such, local small business owners face difficulties and challenges as more competitors enter the market. For example, through an interview conducted with 42-year-old businesswoman Puan Marlinda, Komtar became the focus of civil servants who work in government buildings, therefore she believes that the area is always crowded. Currently, he said, although the business is still new, she is not comfortable with the conditions and facilities, although they are sufficient to meet the needs of the people who visit his shop. Nevertheless, she still accepts customers like Indonesia. Furthermore, she responded negatively when asked for advice on how visitors or locals could avoid the Komtar area, believing that people of all backgrounds would still travel to Komtar for important government-related issues. Finally, the information provided by her, illegal immigrants who come to Komtar, also start businesses here that work with, support, or associate with local Chinese who break the law. As a result, it shows that despite the lack of action, illegal migration is getting bolder. As a result, it leads to frustration and inequality when too many people or businesses do and compete for the same job or source of income. In this context, this problem is related to Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), which promotes sustainable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. In fact, without proper regulation, population growth could lead to a wider income gap between local residents and immigrants (The Global Goals, 2025).

Furthermore, the effect of the population problem of the local population and migration caused the social culture to be affected in the Komtar area, Georgetown Penang where they used to work together in sharing the same local values. However, the population present in this area for the purpose of working or being one of the visitors creates a difficult relationship with the local population which becomes a difficulty to feel comfortable in the environment of the population nowadays as there are differences in lifestyle and language which can cause misunderstanding or discomfort. Therefore, creating social tension for all residents of the Komtar area, Georgetown Penang to understand each other. This is in line with the goal of Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG 16) to achieve peace, equality, and a resilient society (The Global Goals, 2025). Lastly, the effect of the rising population and migration in Komtar, Georgetown had transformed it into a migrant-centered hub, which Komtar had become a place for migrant workers to live, work, and shop. Due to many shops in Komtar being closed down, many local Malaysians stopped going there. Therefore, these empty spaces were filled by migrant workers from countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar. They started opening their own shops and also using the area for their daily necessities. Even though Komtar was once seen as a failed building, it had become busy again, however not with locals, but filled with migrants who gave the place a new life. The migrants used the space in their way to make a living and connect with others from their homes. According to an article, it mentions that there are Filipino grocery stores that sell snacks and food for Filipino workers. There are also Burmese hair salons and Bangladeshi shops selling phone cards. These are real shops that can still be found inside Komtar today. This has shown how migrant workers have turned Komtar into a place that fulfills all their needs (Architecture, 2017).

In conclusion, through effective and comprehensive urban planning, population growth factors and trends can empower and control the population of the local community to make the best decisions to maintain a productive area. This being the case, the surrounding population problem will directly affect sustainability because more people need resources to survive. Clearly, the problem of population towards sustainability is a critical issue that must be addressed which results in the unsustainability and deterioration of urbanization problems due to the increase in internal and external population that can have an impact. As a result, urban planners need a concerted effort to create a more sustainable future to be managed responsibly and used in a way that benefits everyone. In summary, since the population will increase over time, it is important to take decisive action now so that future generations will not experience the effects of overpopulation on sustainability (Natalia Kolkowska, 2023).