KUALA LUMPUR – In a surprise development, the Malaysian Parliament on March 2 failed to pass a constitutional amendment Bill to
limit the prime minister’s tenure to 10 years – one of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s reform promises in an attempt to regain support among urban voters.
The motion barely failed to pass, with just 146 ayes instead of the 148 needed to go over the two-thirds majority required to amend the Federal Constitution. Forty-four MPs abstained, while 32 were absent.
Among the prominent backbenchers who were absent were UMNO MP Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysian Indian Congress deputy president M. Saravanan and Sabah Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku president Jeffrey Kitingan.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said, who tabled the Bill, earlier said the introduction of a 10-year limit would serve as an objective measure.
“It is appropriate not to tie the limit to parliamentary terms, as Parliament may be dissolved earlier. Such an approach helps avoid administrative instability while preventing the concentration of power for too long,” she said during the wrap-up session before the House proceeded with the second reading votes.
Ms Azalina said a statement will be issued on the matter soon.
Several ministers and deputies expressed disappointment in the MPs who did not support the Bill, with Transport Minister Anthony Loke saying all 40 MPs from his Democratic Action Party (DAP) were present and “did their best” to realise the reform agenda.
“Civil society and voters who aspired to see the nation’s institution reform need to condemn and question the absentee and abstaining MPs, including the opposition bloc,” Mr Loke, who is DAP secretary-general, said in a Facebook post. DAP is the largest bloc in Datuk Seri Anwar’s unity government.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Sim Tze Tzin from Mr Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat also said that the party president had done his best to limit his own power.
“Malaysia missed an opportunity to make our country more democratic. Prime Minister has done his best. However, we are short of two votes. Disappointed,” he posted on X.
In what would have been a first for the Westminster parliamentary system, the 10-year PM limit is part of Mr Anwar’s institutional reform announcement on Jan 5.
Mr Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition had pledged to introduce a term limit for the prime minister in its manifesto for the 2022 General Election, aiming to curb the “damage” caused by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who remained in power for 22 years until 2003, before returning for a second stint of 22 months from 2018 to 2020 – the longest tenure in Malaysian history.
According to the Constitution, the prime minister can serve as long as he commands majority support in the Lower House of Parliament.
Parliamentary opposition leader Hamzah Zainuddin earlier argued that the proposed term limit may infringe on the constitutional discretion of the king in appointing a prime minister whom he believes commands the confidence of the majority of MPs.
“Let’s take the example of an MP who is eligible to serve as PM for a maximum of two terms (due to the limitation). He or she cannot be appointed beyond that.
“This would cause the king to lose the prerogative to appoint him or her,” he said during the debate session on March 2.
Instead, he suggested that the government should not allow the prime minister to also hold the finance minister portfolio, as Mr Anwar and most of his predecessors have done, to prevent a concentration of power.
During the PH administration in 2018-2020, then Prime Minister Mahathir did not hold the finance portfolio to avoid a recurrence of the multibillion 1MDB scandal under his predecessor Najib Razak.
Political analyst Adib Zalkapli said the government cannot shift the blame to others, as it is the government’s responsibility to convince its backbenchers, especially when it comes to support of its own Bill.
“Ultimately, it is for the PM to ensure he has the internal support to pursue his reform agenda,” Mr Adib, managing director of advisory firm Viewfinder Global Affairs, told The Straits Times.
Following Parliament’s failure to pass the amendment limiting the prime minister’s term to 10 years, the Anwar-led administration could re-table the Bill further down the road, asking a bipartisan special parliamentary committee to refine details before the MPs vote again. Alternatively, the Bill could be shelved altogether.
Another signature reform on the table is removing prosecutorial powers from Malaysia’s attorney-general.
The move to separate the offices of the attorney-general – the government’s top lawyer appointed by the prime minister – and the public prosecutor will be voted on in Parliament on March 3. A two-thirds majority is also required for this to be passed. The reform to the power of prosecution was in response to calls to ensure decisions on criminal charges are independent of political pressures.
