# Local Government Act 1976: The Law Behind Malaysia's Appointed Councils

> The Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171) is the statute that constitutes, empowers, and finances every city, municipal, and district council in Peninsular Malaysia — and the law that replaced elected local councils with state-appointed councillors.

- Category: law
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-08-14
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/law/local-government-act-1976

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If you have ever wondered why no Malaysian ballot has ever listed a candidate for mayor, the answer is a single statute. The **Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171)** — long title "An Act to revise and consolidate the laws relating to local government" — is the law that constitutes every city, municipal, and district council in Peninsular Malaysia, appoints the people who run them, and hands them the power to tax and fine you. It received Royal Assent on **18 March 1976** and was gazetted on 25 March 1976. Despite what much of the web says, **Section 1(1) states it applies only to Peninsular Malaysia**; Sabah and Sarawak keep their own ordinances.

## Why are councillors appointed instead of elected?

This is the Act's most consequential feature. **Section 15(1)** provides that all provisions relating to local-government elections "shall cease to have force or effect," and Section 15(2) removed the elected councillors then in office. In their place, **Section 10** makes the council a **Mayor or President plus not fewer than eight and not more than twenty-four councillors, appointed by the State Authority**, each for a term not exceeding three years. That is the statutory root of the long-running "restore local elections" or "third vote" debate.

It also fits the constitutional design: under the Federal Constitution's **Ninth Schedule, local government — including local authorities, local rates, and local-government elections — sits in the State List**, making it primarily a state matter. Article 95A adds a **National Council for Local Government**, chaired by a Minister with one representative per state, to set national policy.

## What counts as a "local authority"?

Section 2 defines a **local authority** as any City Council, Municipal Council, or District Council (in the Federal Territory, the Commissioner of the City of Kuala Lumpur). A **City Council** is the council of a municipality that has been conferred city status. Under **Section 3**, a State Authority — consulting the Minister and the Election Commission — declares an area a local authority, names it, fixes its boundaries, and sets its status as Municipal or District, all by Gazette.

| Question | Provision |
|---|---|
| Where does the Act apply? | Section 1 — Peninsular Malaysia only |
| Who creates a council and sets its status? | Section 3 |
| How is a council made up? | Section 10 — Mayor/President + 8–24 appointees |
| Why no elections? | Section 15 |
| By-laws and penalties | Part XIII (Sections 102–106) |
| Assessment rates | Part XV — Section 127 (basis in Section 130) |

## What can a council actually do to your daily life?

Two Parts of the Act reach into most residents' lives. **Part XV (Rating and Valuation)** lets a local authority impose **rates — the assessment tax, or *cukai pintu*** — on holdings within its area under Section 127, with the basis of assessment set in Section 130. **Part XIII** gives councils a general power to **make by-laws**, which the State Authority must confirm (Section 103) and which may carry penalties for breaches (Section 104). Between them, they underpin the licensing, markets, sanitation, and public-place rules a council enforces.

## How big and how old is the Act?

In its consolidated form the Act comprises **16 Parts, 166 sections, and 2 schedules**. It was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on 18 December 1975 and the Dewan Negara on 20 January 1976, and has since been amended seven times — including the Local Government (Amendment) Acts of 1978, 1983, 1991, 1993, and 2007, and the Fire Services Act 1988, which deleted the Act's original Part X. Nationwide, the Department of Local Government (JKT) has referenced a list of **155 local authorities (PBT)**, alongside the parallel systems in Sarawak (Local Authority Ordinance 1996) and Sabah (Local Government Ordinance 1961).

## What's next

To object to a valuation or an assessment bill, follow the notice-and-objection procedure in Part XV and your council's valuation list. To understand where councils sit beneath the state and federal tiers, look next at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) and the National Council for Local Government under Article 95A.

## Sources

- Laws of Malaysia, Act 171 Local Government Act 1976 (official reprint incorporating amendments up to 1 January 2006) — https://www.doa.gov.my/doa/resources/info_doa/akta171_kerajaan_tempatan_1976.pdf (Commissioner of Law Revision, Malaysia)
- Local Government Act 1976 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1976 (Wikipedia)
- Concept of Local Government — https://jkt.kpkt.gov.my/aboud-lgd/lgd-info/concept-of-local-government (Jabatan Kerajaan Tempatan (Department of Local Government), KPKT)
- Federal Constitution of Malaysia (Reprint) — Article 95A and Ninth Schedule, State List — https://lom.agc.gov.my/federal-constitution.php (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (AGC))

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