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Local

Government

Local Government: Chapter 7


Representative System In Local
Government

Representative System in Local


Government
Malaysia

Local government is the lowest level in the


system of government in Malaysiaafter
federal and state. It has the power to
collect taxes (in the form of assessment
tax), to create laws and rules (in the form
of by-laws) and to grant licenses and
permits for any trade in its area of
jurisdiction, in addition to providing basic
amenities, collecting and managing waste
and garbage as well as planning and
developing the area under its jurisdiction.

Representative System in Local


Government
Malaysia
The enforcement of Local Government Act
1976 established in essence only two types
of local council - one for municipality and
one for rural area. Apart of that mentioned
by the Act 171, there are many other
agencies established and charged with the
role of a local council. These so-called
modified local authorities were established
under newly created, separate and special
Act of Parliament or state enactments or
ordinances.

Representative System in Local


Government
Malaysia

Currently there are a total of 151


local authorities in Malaysia and
their breakdown is as follows:

1 City Hall - City Hall of Kuala Lumpur


11 City Councils
36 Municipal Councils
96 District Councils
7 modified local authorities.

Representative System in Local


Government
France

According to its constitution, France


has 3 levels of local government:
22 Rgions and 4 Rgions d'outre-mer
(Runion, Martinique, Guadeloupe and
French Guiana).
96 dpartements and 4 dpartements
d'outre-mer (Runion, Guadeloupe,
Martinique and French Guiana).
There are 36,679 municipalities (in
French: Communes).

Representative System in Local


Government
England

England is subdivided on different


levels:
The top level of local government within
England is the nine regions. Each region has a
government office and assorted other
institutions. Only the London region has a
directly elected administration. Only one other
regional referendum has been held to date to
seek consent for the introduction direct
elections elsewherein the northeast of
Englandand this was soundly rejected by the
electorate.

Representative System in Local


Government
England
England is subdivided on different levels:
The layers of government below the regions
are mixed.
Historic counties still exist with adapted
boundaries, although in the 1990s some of
the districts within the counties became
separate unitary authorities and a few
counties have been disbanded completely.
There are also metropolitan districts in some
areas which are similar to unitary authorities.
In Greater London there are 32 London
boroughs which are a similar concept.

Representative System in Local


Government
England

England is subdivided on different levels:

Counties are further divided into districts


(also known as boroughs in some areas).
Districts are added into wards for
electoral purposes.
Districts may also contain parishes and
town council areas with a small
administration of their own.
Other area classifications are also in use,
such as health service and LordLieutenant areas.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
The

British in 1801 established a


Council of Assessors in Penang, charged
with the role of planning and developing
the municipality area, and was the basis
of local government in the then Malaya
(present-day Peninsula Malaysia). After
Penang, local councils were established
beginning with Malacca, followed by the
Federated and the Unfederated Malay
States, finally extending to Sarawak and
North Borneo.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
Laws

were promulgated to govern


the establishment of local
authorities and the organization of
local council elections. One of the
important laws was the Local
Government Election Ordinance
1950 that entrusted local councils
to organize elections for the office
of councilorspeople that govern
local areas.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
Another

law was the Local


Government Ordinance 1952 which
empowered local residents to establish
local councils in their area wherever
necessary. Prior to Malaya's
independence from the British in 1957,
there were a total of 289 units of local
council in Malaya. The constitution of
the new country after independence
from Britain gave the power to control
local governments to the states.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
Between

the 1950s and 1960s,


Malaysia had 373 local authorities
that had well over 3,000 elected
representatives out of a total of
some 4,223 local councilors. This
number excluded those of the
Kuala Lumpur municipality, which
came under a separate jurisdiction
because it was the federal capital.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
The

three most prominent


municipalities were George Town, Ipoh
and Malacca. Elsewhere, there were
37 town councils, 37 town boards, 289
local councils and 7 district councils.
Penang and Malacca were the two
states which had local councils statewide and only Penang had fully
elective councils throughout its
territory on both the island and the
mainland.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
George

Town had a particularly


eminent history in terms of democracy
at the local level. The first elections in
Malaya were held there in 1951 to
elect nine councilors. George Town
was a "city council" (the only one) by
virtue of the fact that it was granted
city status by the British in January
1957.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
With

the passage of the Local


Government Act, 1960, a new
Constitution was granted to the City
Council of George Town from 1 April
1961. George Town was fully
autonomous financially and was the
richest local authority, with annual
revenue almost double that of the
State of Penang. Its Reserve Fund at
the end of 1965 stood at some
6,037,535 Malaysian dollars.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
The

1960s was a challenging time


for local authorities in Malaya.
They faced many problems
regarding internal politics and
administration. In addition, the
Indonesian confrontation against
the formation of Malaysia in 1963
has forced the federal government
to suspend local council elections
in 1965.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
The

suspension was made by


means of emergency law namely
the Emergency (Suspension of
Local Government Elections)
Regulations 1965 and its
amendment on the same year.
Since then, local governments in
Malaysia have not been
elected.hru the election process

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
Problems

faced during the early


1960s were further aggravated
by a plethora of local government
entities in the country at that
time. To make matters worse,
there were many laws governing
local authorities since every state
had their own laws.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
Until

early 1970s, the


proliferation of local councils
reached staggering numbers
374 in Peninsula Malaysia alone.
Hence, the federal government
saw the need to reform local
governments in Malaysia in order
to improve its working and
standing.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
A

Royal Commission of Inquiry to


investigate the working of local
governments in West Malaysia was
established in June 1965 for this
purpose.
After the Nahappan Report was
completed, the Cabinet appointed yet
another commission or committee to
study the implications of the
Nahappan Report.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
It

went along with the spirit and


most of the Nahappan
recommendations. It was,
however, another report
submitted by the Development
Administration Unit (DAU) of the
Prime Minister's Department which
effectively set aside the Nahappan
recommendations in 1971.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
Ong

Kee Hui, the Minister for Housing


and Loval Government started the
restructuring process by introducing
the Local Government Act (Temporary
Provision) 1973.
This Act empowered the federal
government to review all existing laws
relating to local governments,
including state enactments and
ordinances.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
Eventually,

three main laws were


passed which changed the
system of local government in
Malaysia. They were Street,
Drainage and Building Act 1974
(Act 133), Local Government Act
1976 (Act 171) and Town and
Country Planning Act 1976 (Act
172).

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
Some

important changes were


enforced under the Act 171 alone. One
of them was the restriction of the
number of local governments in the
peninsula.
More importantly the abolishment of
local government elections. Under this
act, local councilors were no longer
elected but appointed by the state
government.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
The

local government roles have had


rapidly changed as well. In early
1960s, a local government was
considered as another channel in
exercising one's democratic right apart from electing representatives to
the parliamentary and state
assemblies. However, it has now taken
up the role of speeding up and
encouraging development projects for
better economic environment.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
The

constitution of 1957 gave the


exclusive power to govern local
governments to the state except
those in the federal territories.
However, a constitutional
amendment was made in 1960
that provides for the establishment
of a consultative committee called
the National Council for Local
Government.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
Membership

of this council consist of a


federal cabinet minister as the chair, a
representative from each state
governments as well as no more than 10
representatives of the federal
government. Although its role is to be
consulted in the matters of law governing
local authorities, this 1960 constitutional
amendment also provided the chair a
casting vote thus gave the federal
government a big clout on local
government.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
The

local government today, based


on the Local Government Act of
1976, allowed for the
establishment of 12 municipalities
and 90 district councils within
three years, and most members of
these councils would be appointed
and not elected, and in most cases
the chairman would be the District
Officer or some other civil servant.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
The

two main division of local


government are rural district councils
and urban centers. There are two
types of urban council: city councils
and municipalities. All types of local
government perform the same
functions. Municipalities can be
upgraded to cities once they satisfy
the required criteria. There are nine
city councils, 34 municipal councils
and 101 district councils.

Selection/Appointment of
Councilors
However,

cities are led by mayors, while


municipalities and districts are led by
presidents. The state governments,
elected every five years, appoint mayors,
presidents and all councilors. The
appointments are for three-year terms,
but individuals may be reappointed. This
is uniform across the country. The council
decision-making process is through a
committee structure determined by the
local authority, including the committees
provided for in legislation.

Evaluating The Representative


System
Issues

of Political Appointments:

Non-governmental organizations and


professionals want the Selangor
government to review the recent
appointment of local councilors,
claiming that some NGOs and
professionals have been left out this
time around.

Evaluating The Representative


System
Issues

of Political Appointments:

A memorandum was handed over by the Coalition of


NGO and Professional Appointed Councilors (CONPAC)
and Coalition for Good Governance (CGG) asking the
state government to:

Reveal the list of all councilors appointed


under the promised 25% quota allocation
for NGOs and professionals;
Allow a transparent assessment system so
that those who have been dropped have a
chance to defend themselves; and
Include an official from the CGG in the
selection committee to ensure fair play.

Evaluating The Representative


System
Issues

of Political Appointments:

Disappointment was expressed with the


appointments that allegedly did not fulfill
the 2008 general election promise of
setting aside 25% of the posts for
professionals and NGOs. The number of
NGOs and professionals appointed has
reduced to three from seven in 2008. In
the Kuala Langat district council, the only
NGO councilor not affiliated to any political
party who was appointed under the quota
system has been axed.

Evaluating The Representative


System
Issues

of Political Appointments:

There is a need to restore local


government elections, arising from
many issues concerning poor
management and abuse of power in
local authorities as highlighted by
local newspapers. People were angry
by political interferences in the
decision-making of the local councils
and they want changes to be made.

Evaluating The Representative


System
Issues

of Political Appointments:

The appointment of local councilors under


the present scheme or system is a political
appointment, and certainly there is no
transparency. In 1970s, when the local
councilors were appointed, section 10 of
the Local Government Act 1976 was
followed strictly. These people, in addition
to the professional expertise they brought
to the post, were involved in community
affairs.

Evaluating The Representative


System
Issues

of Political Appointments:

However, in 1980s, the local councilors


began to change to be political appointees
from component parties of the ruling
coalition. Before 1980s, the local councilors
were loyal to the public but after that, the
local councilors were only loyal to their
political masters. Since then, corruption
had tarnished the service given by the local
authorities whereby by-laws and guidelines
were not followed strictly. This had then
affected peoples lives and interests.

Evaluating The Representative


System
Issues

of Political Appointments:

In the Roadmap to Local


Government Elections Conference
jointly organized by the Malacca Bar
Committee, Centre for Policy
Initiatives and Civil Society Initiative
for Parliamentary Reform (CSIParliament) on July 26th, 2008 in
Malacca, the following resolutions
were formulated:

Evaluating The Representative


System
Issues

of Political Appointments:

Resolutions:
The restoration of local elections
constitutes an important step forward in
reviving democracy, improving the
standard of governance and checking the
scourge of corruption, excesses and
mismanagement presently plaguing the
urban population in Malaysia;

Evaluating The Representative


System
Issues

of Political Appointments:

Resolutions:
The restoration of local elections lies
clearly within the jurisdiction of the state
government, as provided for by the
Article 113(4) and Item 4, List II, Schedule
9 in the Federal Constitution. State
governments, especially the Pakatan
Rakyat ones which have made election
promises on reviving local elections,
should take immediate steps to formulate
state laws to such effect;

Evaluating The Representative


System
Issues

of Political Appointments:

Resolutions:
The Federal Government should, at the
same time, initiate consultations with the
general public and hold negotiations with
the state governments to formulate a
comprehensive plan to have local
elections that are clean, free, fair and
representative.

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