MARA was formed by an act of Parliament in 1966. It had originally begun as the Rural Industrial Development Authority (RIDA), which was established by the British colonial administration in 1951, a program to provide economic assistance and support to Malay farmers and rural inhabitants - this organisation was later expanded in scope and became the MARA in 1966. Although it is an autonomous government agency, it reports to the Minister of Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development, who appoints all the members of the MARA Council Members. Besides state-level offices in the 13 states of Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, MARA also operates two offices overseas — one in London, and another in Washington, D.C.