Was the failed 10-year PM term-limit Bill meant to keep Bossku’s comeback option alive?

 

THE term-limit amendment Bill that fell two votes short in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday (March 2) was not merely a setback for reform. It was, politically speaking, a “gift” to ex-premier Datuk Seri Datuk Seri Najib Razak and everything his era came to symbolise.

Under the proposed amendment, a Prime Minister’s (PM) tenure would be capped at 10 years – including past service – with caretaker periods excluded.

When you apply that formula to Najib’s tenure, the country’s disgraced sixth PM would still theoretically have roughly only another year available.

It’s no secret that UMNO has been campaigning for Najib’s full pardon. If that comes through and GE16 sees a resurgent UMNO riding on the Bossku popularity, Najib might just be in line to return to Putrajaya as PM just as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did in 2018 after a 15-year retirement.

Coincidence or orchestrated?

So it came as no surprise that among the eight backbenchers who were absent yesterday was Sembrong MP and former defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein who happened to be Najib’s cousin.

Whether the suspended ex-UMNO vice-president deliberately stayed away from the vote to pave the way for his kinsman’s return remains a subject of speculation. But the optics are damning.

And then there’s Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, the Tapah MP and MIC’s sole representative in the Dewan Rakyat.

MIC has been among the loudest in calling for Najib’s pardon. When contacted by the media, the former human resources minister said he was away performing prayers during the voting process.

Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (right)

Datuk Seri M. Saravanan

Did this include supplication for Najib’s Second Act in Putrajaya? One can only wonder.

Then, there’s Keningau MP Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan. This 78-year-old Sabah politician is notorious for switching political allegiance – from PBS to PKR to STAR (Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku).

He is the epitome for “political frogs” Sabah is known for. Given his history, one can be forgiven for assuming that Kitingan is hedging his bets.

The others? Julau’s Datuk Larry Sng said he was stuck in traffic while independent Bukit Gantang’s Datuk Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal went on record saying he opposed because he wanted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to stay in power “as long as possible”.

Abu Hussin was the same MP who quit Bersatu to pledge allegiance to Anwar in 2023. These excuses are almost laughable.

The other two so-called Madani renegades are Lawas MP Datuk Henry Sum Agong – a Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition representative from PBB and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-friendly Tenom independent MP Riduan Rubin.

‘Opposition voted against reform’

And then there’s the 44 MPs who abstained, mostly those from Perikatan Nasional (PN). Why is this so? Could it be because they know that Najib is the bomb that could implode Madani?

The DAP-UMNO marriage was always a rocky one. And nothing tests that marriage like Bossku’s return. In fact, the mere mention of Najib’s pardon would rattle the alliance to its core.

So, by abstaining, the opposition kept Najib in the equation. They preserved the one issue that could tear Madani apart from within.

In other words, the opposition didn’t just vote against reform. They voted to keep the coalition’s most toxic fault line active.

So this begs the question: Was yesterday’s failure about safeguarding the nation’s institutions – or about keeping the door open for one man’s comeback?

 Johan Abu Bakar is a reader of Focus Malaysia.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.