LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1976

LAWS OF MALAYSIA ONLINE VERSION OF UPDATED TEXT OF REPRINT Act 171 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1976 As at 1 December 2012 2 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1976 Date of Royal Assent … … … … … 18 March 1976 Date of publication in the Gazette… … … 25 March 1976 Latest amendment made by Act A1311 which came into operation on … … … 1 September 2011; P.U.(B) 488/2011 for Perlis, Kedah, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johore; P.U.(B) 491/2011 for Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya … PREVIOUS REPRINTS First Reprint … … … 1998 Second Reprint … … … 2001 Third Reprint … … … 2006 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 171 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1976 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title, application and commencement 2. Interpretation PART II ADMINISTRATION OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES 3. Declaration and determination of status of local authority areas 4. Change of name and status, and alteration of boundaries 5. Merger of two or more local authorities 6. Succession of rights, liabilities and obligations 7. Extension of this Act to non-local authority areas 8. Administration of local authority areas 9. Power of State Authority to issue directions 10. Councillors 11. Declaration by Councillor before assuming office 12. Councillors exempt from service as assessors or jurors 13. Local authorities to be corporations 14. Common seal 15. Provisions relating to local government elections ceasing to have effect 4 Laws of Malaysia ACT 171 PART III OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES Section 16. List of offices 17. Power of local authority to provide for discipline, etc., of its officers 18. Superannuation or Provident Fund PART IV CONDUCT OF BUSINESS 19. Local authority office 20. Ordinary meetings 21. Special meetings 22. Notice of meetings 23. Meetings of local authority to be public 24. Quorum 25. Chairman of meetings 26. Vote of majority decisive 27. Minutes to be kept of all proceedings 28. Appointment of Committees 29. Standing orders for regulating proceedings of local authorities 30. Extraordinary powers in case of emergency 31. Validity of acts of local authority officers 32. Authentication and execution of documents 33. Exemption of Councillors, etc., from personal liability 34. Disability of Councillors for voting on account of interests in contracts, etc. 35. Restriction 36. Contracts 37. Mode of executing contracts exceeding ten thousand ringgit 38. Employees not to be interested in contracts Local Government 5 PART V GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS Section 39. Revenue of the local authority 40. Local Authority Fund 41. Power of local authority to raise loans 42. Power of local authority to issue mortgages or debenture stock and to make regulations in respect thereof 43. Notice of trust, charge or other interest not receivable 44. Securities to be trust investment 45. Remedies for default 46. Borrowing powers for special purposes 47. Loans by Government 48. Loans to be first charge on revenue and assets 49. Advances by way of overdraft 50. Sinking fund 51. State Authority may give directions as regards sinking fund 52. Renewal and insurance funds PART VI ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT 53. Accounts to be kept 54. Financial year 55. Annual estimates to be passed and approved 56. Supplementary estimates 57. No expenditure to be incurred unless included in the estimates 58. Virement 59. Form of estimates 60. Audit of accounts 61. Power to take evidence 62. Remuneration of auditor 6 Laws of Malaysia ACT 171 PART VII PUBLIC PLACES Section 63. Control of public place, etc. 64. Power to make new public places, etc., and enlarge them 65. Power temporarily to close public places 66. Power to erect public buildings in open public places 67. Conditions and restrictions in regard to closure of street, etc. 68. Naming of public places, etc. PART VIII POLLUTION OF STREAMS 69. Committing nuisance in streams, etc. 70. Pollution of streams with trade refuse, etc. 71. Local authority may recover for work done PART IX FOOD, MARKETS, SANITATION AND NUISANCES 72. Powers 73. By-laws 74. Filthy house, etc. 75. Power to enter and cleanse houses or buildings 76. Destruction of rats and mice 77. Closing and demolition, etc., of insanitary dwellings 78. Overcrowding of houses 79. When house to be deemed “overcrowded” 80. Nuisances to be abated 81. Nuisances liable to be dealt with summarily under this Act 82. Notice requiring abatement of nuisance 83. Order for demolition of house unfit for habitation 84. Power to proceed where cause of nuisance arises outside local authority area Local Government 7 PART X FIRE SERVICES Section 85 – 93. (Deleted) PART XI BURIAL PLACES, CREMATORIA AND EXHUMATION 94. Local authority may provide burial grounds and crematoria and issue licences for the same 95. Penalty for unlawful burials 96. Power to close burial grounds and crematoria 97. Exhumation of corpses 98. Power to make by-laws 99. Keeping of registers 100. Non-application of other written laws PART XII FURTHER POWERS OF LOCAL AUTHORITY 101. Further powers of local authority PART XIII BY-LAWS 102. General power to make by-laws 102A. By-law, etc., may prescribe fees and charges 103. By-laws to be confirmed by State Authority 104. Penalties for breaches of by-laws 105. Power to demand monetary deposits from applicants for permits 106. Publication of by-law, rule or regulation in the Gazette constitutes notice 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 171 PART XIV MISCELLANEOUS Section 107. Licences 108. Notices, etc. 109. Default in compliance with notice or order 110. Power to enter premises 111. Officer may demand names and addresses 112. Penalty for obstructing Councillor and others 113. Recovery of expenses 114. Expenses and costs payable by owners 115. Recovery of expenses or costs from persons in default 116. Recovery of charges for local authority services 117. Recovery by instalments 118. Compensation, damages and costs to be determined by courts of competent jurisdiction 119. General penalty 120. Local authority may direct prosecution 121. Power of arrest 122. Books of local authority to be prima facie evidence of sums due 123. Liability for acts and omissions 124. Public Authorities Protection Act 1948 125. Protection of Councillors, officers and employees from personal liability 126. Officers to be public servants PART XV RATING AND VALUATION 127. Power to impose rates 128. Further rates 129. Division of area and holding for rating purposes 130. Basis of assessment of rate 131. (Deleted) Local Government Section 132. Drainage rate 133. Duration of rate 134. Exemption from rates 135. Exemption or reduction of rate 136. Minimum rate payable 137. Preparation of Valuation List 138. Designation if name of owner unknown 139. Joint or separate valuation 140. Returns may be required 141. Notice of new Valuation List to be published 142. Objections 143. Confirmation of new Valuation List 144. Amendments to Valuation List 145. Appeals 146. Rates to be first charge 147. Proceedings in default 148. Proceedings for recovery of an arrear 149. Sale of property attached 150. Application of proceeds of sale 151. Attachment and sale of holding 152. Recovery of costs 153. Power to stop sale 154. Objection to attachment 155. Recovery of rates paid by occupier 156. Arrear may be sued as debt 157. Evidence of rates 158. Assessment, etc., not to be impeached for want of form 159. Liability of owner on subdivision or amalgamation of holdings 160. Notice of transfer of rateable holdings 161. Notice of new buildings 162. Refund on unoccupied buildings 9 10 Laws of Malaysia Section 163. Provision for rating buildings on State or reserved land 164. Saving PART XVI SPECIAL PROVISIONS 165. Transfers of functions 166. Repeal FIRST SCHEDULE SECOND SCHEDULE ACT 171 11 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 171 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1976 An Act to revise and consolidate the laws relating to local government. [See Appendix] WHEREAS it is expedient for the purpose only of ensuring uniformity of law and policy to make a law with respect to local government: NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to the provisions of Clause (4) of Article 76 of the Constitution BE IT ENACTED, by the Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong with the advice and consent of the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: PART I PRELIMINARY Short title, application and commencement 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Local Government Act 1976, and shall apply only to Peninsular Malaysia. (2) This Act shall come into force in a State on such date as the State Authority may, after consultation with the Minister, appoint in relation to that State by a notification in the Gazette and the State Authority may, after consultation with the Minister, appoint different dates for the coming into force of different provision of this Act and may bring all or any of the provisions thereof into force either in the whole State or in such part or parts of the State as may be specified in the notification. 12 Laws of Malaysia ACT 171 (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), in relation to the Federal Territory, this Act shall come into force on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint. (4) The State Authority may, notwithstanding subsection (2), by notification in the Gazette exempt any area within any local authority area from all or any of the provisions of the Act or from any by-laws. (5) Where in any notification made under subsection (2) it is specified that part or parts of this Act shall come into operation, the State Authority may specify in the same notification the provisions of any of those laws referred to in section 166 which shall be repealed. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “annual value” means the estimated gross annual rent at which the holding might reasonably be expected to let from year to year the landlord paying the expenses of repair, insurance, maintenance or upkeep and all public rates and taxes: Provided that— (a) in estimating the annual value no account shall be taken of any restrictions or control on rent in so far as it limits the rent which may be required by a landlord or recovered from a tenant of a holding; (b) in estimating the annual value of any holding in or upon which there is any machinery used for any or all of the following purposes: (i) the making of any article or part of an article; (ii) the altering, repairing, ornamenting or finishing of any article; (iii) the adapting for sale of any article, Local Government 13 the enhanced value given to the holding from the presence of such machinery shall not be taken into consideration, and for the purposes of this paragraph “machinery” includes steam engines, boilers or other motive power belonging to such machinery; (c) in the case of any land— (i) which is partially occupied or partially built upon; (ii) which is vacant, unoccupied or not built upon; (iii) with an incomplete building; or (iv) with a building which has been certified by the local authority to be abandoned or dilapidated or unfit for human habitation, the annual value shall be, in the case of subparagraph (i), either the annual value as hereinbefore defined or ten per centum of the open market value thereof at the absolute discretion of the Valuation Officer, and in the case of subparagraphs (ii), (iii) and (iv) the annual value shall be ten per centum of the open market value thereof as if, in relation to subparagraphs (iii) and (iv), it were vacant land with no buildings thereon and in all cases the local authority may, with the approval of the State Authority, reduce such percentages to a minimum of five per centum; (d) where in respect of any particular holding, in the opinion of the Valuation Officer, there is insufficient evidence to base a valuation o