This chapter is fully aware that there are major differences in local governing situations in the region. The town councils in the economically advanced city state of Singapore and the centrally controlled districts in resource-rich Brunei certainly cannot be compared with local governments in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The latter group not only deals with larger populations, but also possesses more authority because their leaders are popularly elected. They are generally also cash-strapped relative to their need for services and infrastructure. Again, the governance situation at the local level in Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Lao PDR is different because their local leaders are not directly elected by the people. In Malaysia, local governments have a mechanism for citizen many complaints in Therefore it is realized that many of the key challenges place. depend on the institutional set-ups within the countries concerned.