The first Sarawak district council elections were held in the end of 1959. It was a multi-tiered system functioned to elect 24 members into Council Negri (now

Sarawak State Legislative Assembly The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly is the legislative chamber of the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Sarawak; the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak forms the other part of the legislature. The Assembly is modelled after the ...

Background

After Sarawak became a

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

on 1 July 1947, Sir

Charles Noble Arden-Clarke Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke (25 July 1898 – 16 December 1962) was a British colonial administrator. Biography Arden-Clarke was educated at Rossall School. He was the Resident Commissioner of the Bechuanaland Protectorate (later Botswa ...

, the then governor of Sarawak issued "Notes on the Development of Local Government in Sarawak". This led to the setting up of local authorities in Sarawak, financed by population-based capitation grants, customary taxes, and license fees. By 1957, local authorities covered all areas in Sarawak. In 1959, the crown colony government decided to standardise the rates-collecting system for all local authorities in Sarawak. The amount of rates collected was based on property values and matched by one or two-dollar government grants for every dollar collected in rates. Before the election, the oldest political party in Sarawak,

Sarawak United Peoples' Party The Sarawak United Peoples' Party, or SUPP (; ms, Parti Rakyat Bersatu Sarawak; Iban: ''Gerempong Sa'ati Rayat Sarawak'') is a multiracial centre-right local political party of Malaysia based in Sarawak. The SUPP president is Dr. Sim Kui Hi ...

(SUPP) was founded in June 1959. The next oldest political party Parti Negara Sarawak (PANAS) was only founded in April 1960.

Aftermath

After the elections, all the elected members from 24 local councils started working on 1 January 1960, guided by a handbook on the duties of local authorities and councilors.

References

{{Malaysian state elections Sarawak state elections 1959 elections in Malaya