Malaysia 

Introduction

Malaysia is a federal state comprising 13 states and three federal territories. It is a constitutional monarchy located in south-east Asia, with a population of 24, 821,286 and a land area of 330,242 sq km. 

In peninsular Malaysia there are 11 states - Jahar, kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, perlis, Selangor and Terengganu. There are three federal territories one of which includes the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.

There are three types of council – city councils, municipal councils and district councils – forming the local government system in Malaysia. In 2002 local government contributed one per cent to GDP. 

Summary

Local government in Malaysia is governed by councils wholly appointed by the state governments or, in the case of the territories, directly by central government for terms of three years. The creation of the National Council for Local Governments has ensured that policy-making in all three spheres of government is tightly integrated. Local government has a relatively restricted number of responsibilities and this is reflected in its aggregate expenditure.

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