Cabinet agrees to 10-year PM term limit, says Azalina

 

Amendments to the Federal Constitution to limit the prime minister’s term are expected to be tabled during the current Dewan Rakyat session, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said.

This is after the government had agreed to the proposal to cap the term to 10 years, said Azalina.

In a statement, she said the decision to accept the proposal was made at the weekly cabinet meeting yesterday and was part of the raft of institutional reforms being implemented by the Madani administration.

The decision was made after the cabinet studied all feedback on the policy, including public views gathered through the government’s meetings with all stakeholders, she added.

“The proposal for term limits aims to curb the excessive centralisation of power, strengthen democracy and increase the public’s trust towards national institutions, in line with the practice of mature democracies the world over.

“The government will introduce some amendments to the Federal Constitution, which are expected to be tabled at the current session of the Dewan Rakyat,” said Azalina.

Over 60pct support two-term limit

In a New Year’s address, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had announced that the 10-year term limit for the prime minister post would be one of four institutional reforms his administration is aiming to implement this year.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

Malay Mail Online reported that during a town hall session by the Legal Affairs Division on Jan 29, officials revealed that 62.25 percent of 3,722 respondents in a national poll supported a two-term limit for the prime minister.

This is in comparison to 20.61 percent who voted for a maximum tenure limit of 10 years, said the division’s deputy director general (Policy & Development) Punitha Silivarajoo.

“More than half also favoured either consecutive or non-consecutive service counted towards the maximum tenure limit, at 67.60 per cent,” she told a town hall session on the proposal.

Azalina previously said she hoped that opposition MPs would support amendments to the Constitution to enact term limits or be accountable to their voters.

“If there are MPs who reject this constitutional amendment (proposal), it shows that they do not believe this is something important.

"Perhaps, the MPs should explain themselves to the voters who chose them, explain why they do not want to put a cap on the prime minister's power," the Pengerang MP told reporters after a town hall session in Putrajaya on Thursday. - Mkini