PROPOSALS to introduce term limits for the prime minister must carefully define how long an individual may hold the office, with legal experts warning that the structure of any cap will have far-reaching constitutional and political consequences.
Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi said there are three main options for limiting a prime minister’s tenure: restricting the office to two parliamentary terms, whether consecutive or otherwise; allowing only two consecutive terms but permitting a return to office after a break; or imposing an overall maximum of 10 years in office.
While each option carries advantages and drawbacks, he said a cumulative limit of 10 years would be the most practical approach.
“A two-term parliamentary limit brings several problems. In our parliamentary system, the Dewan Rakyat does not have a fixed term.
“It can be dissolved earlier as provided under Articles 43(4) and 55(3) of the Federal Constitution, unless we enact a Fixed-Term Parliament Act.
“In the case of a prime minister in a second term, if he loses majority support and is forced to dissolve Parliament or resign, and the dissolution is allowed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, then that eligible prime minister will lose the possibility of returning to office,” he said.
Shad Saleem was speaking at the Public Dialogue Session on the MADANI Accountability Framework: Limiting the Prime Minister’s Term of Office, held here today.
He added that capping the office based on a total number of years across several parliamentary terms could be a better solution, though a 10-year limit would still raise complex questions.
“Among them is whether the 10-year period includes the time when the prime minister serves as a caretaker after Parliament is dissolved, which can last up to 120 days.
“In a hung Parliament, a caretaker prime minister may be asked to serve in an interim capacity, as has happened in a European country, for months.
“It is proposed that the maximum 10-year period should include time served as caretaker or interim prime minister,” he said.
Shad Saleem also said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong should have the authority to determine when the 10-year period begins and ends.
At the same time, he stressed that any term limit should apply only to the federal prime minister and need not be extended to the states at this stage.
Separately, Sunway University’s Director of Institutional Design, Prof Wong Chin Huat, said term limits are necessary to prevent any individual from monopolising the office and to curb the concentration of power.
He said that even if an incumbent does not centralise authority to the point of abuse, such dominance remains inappropriate for the country’s highest executive position.
“We also want the government to be more disciplined because there is a time limit. It needs to complete what it wants to achieve.
“What we do not want is a term that is so short that leadership cannot achieve what it sets out to implement.
“We also do not want leadership changes to happen too frequently,” he said. - January 30, 2026
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