Withdrawing bill to limit PM's term proves PN power hungry - Harapan

The withdrawal of the bill to limit the prime minister's tenure to two-terms at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday has proven that Perikatan Nasional (PN) is only interested in holding on to power, said the Pakatan Harapan secretariat.

"We deeply regret the move of the government in retracting a bill sought to amend the Federal Constitution to set a two-term limit to the prime minister's post," said the Harapan secretariat in a statement today.

The statement was jointly signed by PKR's Fahmi Fadzil, Amanah's Khalid Samad, and DAP's Liew Chin Tong.

The secretariat added that PN had squandered a golden opportunity to push for meaningful political reform.

"One of the main reasons for us to push for the amendment was to ensure anyone does not hold on to the prime minister's post for too long," they said.

By being prime minister for too long, they said, one would be able to take advantage of holding such a key political position, including covering up on misappropriation.

"The amendment would give an opportunity for more political leaders to serve as the prime minister and prevent any possibility of deification culture of a leader.

"The U-turn attitude proves the government lacks a philosophy of struggle and is only keen on holding to power. It does not have a big vision to ensure democracy is always fertile in Malaysia," they added.

Yesterday, de factor Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan retracted the bill from the Dewan Rakyat, saying PN had no intention to push for it.

The bill was previously tabled by Harapan and was a key promise in their manifesto during the last general election. - Mkini