THE Sabah legislative assembly today lifted the two-term limit for the post of head of state after it spent more than two hours debating the government’s bid to amend the state constitution.
Article 2, clause 3 of the constitution stipulates that “a person shall not hold office as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri for more than two terms, continuously or otherwise”.
The clause was introduced by the previous Parti Bersatu Sabah government in 1983.
With the limit lifted, the Warisan-led state government will revert to the original term “Yang di-Pertua Negara” under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, which does not state any term limit for the post.
Forty-five assemblymen voted in support of the abolishment of the clause, while 15 voted to retain the law.
During the debate, Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal said the position of head of state needed to be respected.
He said in the past, the office would face criticism every time there was a change in government.
Shafie cited two previous chief minister crises in which former heads of state were blamed for the ensuing political upheavals.
Shafie said the move to restore the original name of the post under MA63 would be the first of many his government intended to take to restore rights under the law.
“A committee has been established to review the constitution and ordinances, led by a former state attorney-general.
“Sabah has many interests, not just (safeguarding) sovereignty but also the rights of the people.
“The change to the ‘head of state’ term is an important symbol of the state and limiting the term only downgrades the position of the institution.”
The current head of state is Juhar Mahiruddin, who was appointed to the post in 2011.
His term had been set to end in January next year.
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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