Dr M: We need two-thirds to limit PM's tenure

SEMENYIH POLLS 

| Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said his quest to secure two-thirds support in Parliament is so Pakatan Harapan can fulfil its promises by amending the Federal Constitution.

This includes limiting the prime minister's tenure in office to two terms.

"So when we have two-thirds, we will amend the constitution, but not to get rid of the royalty or curtail them no... I can't amend that.

"But we want to amend the age for voting... We also want to limit the prime minister's powers. We want to limt the prime minister to two terms... that needs constitutional amendments too," he said in a speech in Semenyih this evening.

Term limits can be enforced via principle or a law, but both options are easily reneged on.

Analysts have opined that the best way to place a term limit for the prime minister's post is to amend Article 45 of the Federal Constitution and place limits similar to the age cap on federal court judges.

Harapan and its ally Warisan now control 134 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, following a wave of defections from Umno. 

The ruling coalition is likely to have the support of five other MPs from Sabah - four independents and one from Upko, bringing the number to 139.

In order to reach the two-thirds (148 seats) requirement, Mahathir would then only need nine out of 18 MPs from PAS to vote along with the government bench.

PAS has made overtures to Mahathir, and created speculation that a vote of no confidence would be launched against the prime minister.

Mahathir, however, said today that two-thirds can only be achieved when support is towards a party, not an individual.

"Someone promised to support me. But I am not a party. A party supporting another party, only then can something happen," he said. - Mkini