Part 2 : History Of Malaysian Local Governance In A Nutshell
The British Era
The present system of local government, alike any other countries that were former colonies, could be traced back to Britain which colonized Malaysia for a good two centuries.
In 1801, the British established a Council Of Assessors in Penang which was given the role of planning and developing municipality area. This was the foundation of local governments in what was then Malaya ( or Peninsular Malaysia ).
It was only a matter of time that these policies were introduced to other states beginning with Malacca, followed by Federated and the Unfederated Malay States and finally Sabah plus Sarawak. A total of 289 units of local councils was established in Malaysia prior to its independence in 1957.
However with the passage of time, local government authorities in Malaysia has transformed into a system with its own identity that reflects the political, economic and social climate of the country.
Prior And Post Independence / Merdeka
Most Malaysians hardly ever knew of the existence of a vibrant local level democracy that existed in the 1950s and 1960s. There were 373 local authorities which had 3000 elected representatives out of 4223 local councillors. This excluded Kuala Lumpur municipality since it was the federal capital.
Out of these, George Town, Ipoh and Malacca remained as the most significant municipalities. Penang and Malacca had local councils state wide and only Penang had fully elective councils both on the island plus the mainland.
George Town was the first place were elections in Malaya were held in 1951 to elect nine councillors. Local Government Act 1960, a new constitution was granted to George Town from 1st April 1961 which made it self autonomous and also the richest local authority.
The Ramanathan Accusations
But this was shortlived as the functions of the City Council were transferred to the Chief Minister via Transfer Of Functions Order 1966. This occurred due to allegations of maladministration and malpractices by the City Council of George Town ( mainly its first mayor, D.S. Ramanathan from the Socialist Front Party, and later the Alliance Councillor ).
The accusations mounted against Ramanathan in those days are of plain insignificance compared with scandals that rock the world of Malaysian politics nowadays. One of those charges were fraud in the construction of the city’s largest market. This became the basis of a commission of inquiry.
The Nahappan Commision
In 1965, the Nahappan Commission was formed to investigate the functions and to formulate recommendations to improve the services of local authorities. Due to the confrontation of Indonesia against the formation of Malaysian Federation in 1964, the suspension of local government elections were executed even before the commission completed its studies ( read Emergency ( Suspension Of Local Government Elections ) Regulation 1965 And Emergency ( Suspension Of Local Government Elections ) Amendments Regulations 1965 above )
The Nahappan Report
The report of the commission was finally submitted in 1968. It called for the restoration of elected local government but with a new set of rules. The recommendations were the following
- Every state capital should be administered by a local authority and have elective representation. The same should also be extended to all local councils outside state capitals
- There should be one single law applicable throughout the country relating to and governing local authorities, and every state should adopt and enforce the law within six months after it has been passed by parliament
- A local authority should be decentralized and should be an autonomous body corporate consisting of fully elected members with financial and administrative autonomy but subject to the control of State government on matters of national importance and interest
- Party politics should be allowed to continue despite its good and bad aspects and those who wish to remain non-conformist should have the right to stand as ‘independents’ as in the past
- A Local Government Tribunal should be constituted by the State Authority of every local authority
The report was released only in December 1971.
The Analysis Of Nahappan Report
Local Authorities ( Temporary Revision ) Act was enacted in 1973 which implemented the administrative and restructuring recommendations of the Nahappan Report ( read the previous entry of Part 1 )
The Demise of Local Elections
Local Government Act of 1976 was announced three years later. This literally abolished local elections as members of the councils would be appointed not elected and in most cases the chairman would be the District Officer or any civil servant. This is the type of local government we have installed here today.
Epilogue
The revival of the third vote would restore not only the trust of the people but would pave the way towards a more liberal and democratic governance in the country. The verdict on Tuesday, be it positive, could be a landmark decision that would alter the political as well as socioeconomic landscape in Malaysia by giving the voters the right to choose leaders whom they know have the calibre to deliver good services.
Sources
1. Centre For Public Policy Study
2. The Snuffing Out Of Local Democracy In Malaysia ( Prof. Johan Saravanamuttu )
3. Local Government In Malaysia ( Lee Kiyau Loo )
