Malaysia
 Key facts
POPULATION (Census 2010): 27,565,821
AREA: 330,803 sq km
CAPITAL: Kuala Lumpur
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTION TO GDP: -
CURRENCY: ringgit (RM)
HEAD OF STATE: Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: constitutional monarchy
PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM: bicameral
STATE STRUCTURE: federal
LANGUAGES: Bahasa Malaysia and English (official)
NATIONAL ELECTIONS: last: March 2008; turnout: - next: 2013
LOCAL ELECTIONS: There is no elected local government
Summary
Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy with three tiers of government: federal, state and local. The federal constitution of Malaysia makes provision for local government and the main governing legislation includes the Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171) for the main peninsula and the Local Authorities Ordinance 1996 and Local Government Ordinance 1961 for the states of Sabah and Sarawak respectively. The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHLG) is responsible for implementing all laws pertaining to local government whilst local authorities in the three territories are subject to the purview of the Ministry of Federal Territory and Urban Well-Being. There are three types of urban council in Malaysia: 14 city councils, including two corporations, 39 municipal councils and 98 district councils. Self-assessed income tax provides the largest revenue stream for local authorities, which are also empowered to raise funds through licensing and penalties. The three types of local government have a range of responsibility reflecting their size and capacity. All three types must provide basic infrastructure and public utilities, whilst municipalities and cities additionally provide for urban planning, public health and waste management, and city councils further provide revenue collection activity and
law enforcement.
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