The first Sarawak district council elections were held in the end of 1959.
[1][2] It was a multi-tiered system functioned to elect 24 members into Council Negri (now Sarawak State Legislative Assembly).
This led to the setting up of local authorities in Sarawak, financed by population-based capitation grants, customary taxes, and license fees.
In 1959, the crown colony government decided to standardise the rates-collecting system for all local authorities in Sarawak.
[5] 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.