Opposition sets conditions to support PM term limit bill

THE opposition has set two conditions for the government to support the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 to limit the maximum term of the Prime Minister to 10 years.

Masjid Tanah MP, Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, said, among them is an amendment to the proposal that the Prime Minister cannot hold the position of Finance Minister to avoid centralisation of power.

“In addition, the two-term limit is a principle, but the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can still make exceptions in certain cases and still has absolute power to appoint a Prime Minister.

The Srikandi leader of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) said that during the debate session, Perikatan Nasional (PN) members of Parliament also raised several matters that needed attention, including Article 159(5) and Article 38(4) of the Federal Constitution.

She said that the amendment touched on the privileges and sanctity of the Malay Rulers, which requires a decision to be approved by the Conference of Rulers first.

“This is because it refers to Article 43(2) of the Federal Constitution, which states that it is the absolute power of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong to appoint a Prime Minister. This proposed amendment will limit the absolute power of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong,” she said.

Meanwhile, Indera Mahkota Member of Parliament, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah, said he believed that efforts to limit the term of office of the Prime Minister should be based on a larger maqasid or purpose in developing a new and clean political culture.

“The Prime Minister operates within a political culture. The political culture itself must control his conduct, whether his term of office is limited or not.

“This bill also has the potential to invite unwanted effects. It limits the term of office of the Prime Minister, not control him from becoming too powerful.

“In fact, there are loopholes that may make him more powerful,” he said.

Bachok Member of Parliament, Syahir Sulaiman, said the reaction of government MPs, including the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister at the time, seemed confident that the amendment would be approved following the full attendance of the bloc.

“However, after the ballot papers were counted, the Speaker’s announcement caused the House to fall silent for a moment. The government fell short by two votes, namely 146 out of 148 votes.

“It is understood that eight MPs from the government bloc were absent, causing the government to lose. On the opposition side, we have carried out the task of checks and balances in Parliament.

"The government's task is to ensure that all its members of Parliament are present, so that there is no situation where the government loses, but the opposition is blamed," he said. – March 3, 2026