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44 Panel 2The earlier forms of local authority were modeled afterBritish institutions just as the laws governing the localauthorities, particularly in the formative stage, weremostly based on English laws. With time and politicaldevelopment, Malaysia evolved a local governmentwith its own identity and laws reflective of the socioeconomicand political milieu of the country.The British in Penang laid the foundation of the localgovernment in Malaysia when it formed theCommittee of Assessors in 1801, which was taskedwith the responsibility of planning and implementingurban development. Local councils were later set uparound the country. In order to operationalize thesetting up of local boards and councils, and the holdingof local elections, the British formulated various typesof legislation including: the Local AuthoritiesElections Ordinance of 1950 (which granted the towncouncils the power to organize elections) and the LocalCouncils Ordinance of 1952 (which provided localresidents the power to establish local councils ifdeemed necessary). Thus, at the end of the colonialperiod, there were 289 local councils in Malaysia. Withthis, the British formalized local or districtadministration nationwide. Today, the councilscontinue to serve as the prominent administrativemachinery at the district level for both the state andfederal governments.Political and administrative problems facing localcouncils, coupled with the violent confrontationagainst the just established Malaysian federationduring the post-independent period in the sixties, ledto the suspension of local government elections. Todate, they remain suspended. In 1965, the governmentcommissioned a study to look into reexamining andreforming the local government system. This led to theformulation and adoption of three parent lawspertaining to local government–the Street, Drainageand Building Act 133 (1974), the Local GovernmentAct 171 (1976), and the Town and Country Act 172(1976). These laws regulate the powers, duties,responsibilities, and functions of local authorities.With the adoption of Act 171, there exist only twotypes of local authorities in Malaysia–the municipalcouncils and the district councils. Act 171, however,provides for the establishment of city councils. As aresult of the restructuring, there are now only 14municipal councils and 79 district councils inPeninsular Malaysia, a far cry from the 374 localauthorities in existence prior thereto.In Sabah, the administrative structure is divided intostate, district, and village. The Local GovernmentOrdinance 1961 established the local authorities andoutlines the responsibility and function of localcouncils. The operations of local authorities aregoverned by the Ministry of Local Government andHousing created in 1963. At present, there are fourmunicipal councils and 18 district councils in Sabah.In Sarawak, local authorities were established underthe Local Authorities Ordinance 1996. This ordinanceis the successor of the pre-independence law, the LocalGovernment Ordinance 1948. Other laws regulatinglocal authorities include Building Ordinance 1994, theProtection of Public Health Ordinance 1999, as wellas derivative by-laws formulated. Local councils areoverseen by the state Ministry of Environment andPublic Health. In Sarawak, there are now twomunicipal councils and 21 district councils.It must be noted that the Malaysian Constitution barsthe Parliament from creating laws pertaining to landand local government in Sabah and Sarawak.On the other hand, Indonesia is an independentrepublic. Administratively, it is divided into nationaland local governments.Like in Malaysia, the local government in Indonesiahas its roots in its colonial past. Under Dutch rule,local councils were created for the autonomousResidencies and Municipalities by virtue of the DutchDecentralization Law of 1903. The country waslikewise divided into gouvernementen or provinces.The Council of Provinces was created in 1925. At thesame time, the Council for Residencies was replacedwith the Council for Regencies. In 1926, the firstprovince, Jawa Barat (West Java), was created,followed by Jawa Timur (East Java) in 1929 and JawaTengah (Central Java) in 1930. The council of aProvince was headed by a Governor, the council of aRegency (comparable to a county) by a Regent, and thecouncil of a Municipality by a Mayor.The Indonesian Constitution of 1945 brought in anew system of government. It provided for a system oflocal government and made certain its autonomy. Aseries of laws pertaining to local government was thenenacted. Most notable was Local Government Act 1(1945) which created three levels of localgovernment–residency, county, and municipality. Italso mandated the creation of the Local Board of thePeople’s Representatives (BPRD) in each region. LocalThe Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows