By-Laws and Social Relations: Shaping the Societal Behaviour

Abstract

Objective - Local governments in Malaysia are regulated under the Local Government Act 1976 and each has its power to enact by-laws under their respective administration area. By-law is a formulation of the law under the jurisdiction of local government in performing its duties and functions covering the administrative area that has been identified by the state government. The objectives of this study are to review the extent and the impact of the by-laws implemented by the local government in Kelantan in influencing and shaping the behavior of the local societies and has been conducted as an empirical study. Methodology/Technique - Purposive sampling was used in selecting the targeted respondents in gathering their feedback towards the by-laws implementation and managed to get 76 respondents. Finding - The feedback gathered shows that the local communities are well exposed and giving good responses to the by-laws implementation impact. Kota Bharu Municipal Council of Islamic City (MPKB-BRI) has succeeded in becoming the pioneer in the implementation and enforcement of by-laws that emphasized the teachings of Islamic values and were followed and emulated by other local governments in Kelantan. Novelty - Besides that, the good practice also has been followed by some other local governments in other states such as Terengganu, Kedah, and Melaka. By-laws implemented by the local government in Kelantan is very much different compared to local governments in other states in Malaysia which are the provisions of the by-laws that focus on the Islamic approach which somehow do give some impact to the local communities. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords: Local Government; By-Laws; Islamic Approach; Jurisdiction; Behavior. JEL Classification: A13, D1.