Malaysia’s Cabinet has officially approved a policy limiting the prime minister’s term of office to a maximum of 10 years, or two full terms. This decision is a key pillar of the Madani government’s institutional reform agenda and is widely considered a key step towards strengthening accountability, checks and balances, and constitutionally based governance in step with the Federal Constitution.
Minister within the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the choice was taken throughout the weekly Cabinet meeting on January 30.
She stressed that the aim of this policy is to stop excessive concentration of power within the hands of a single individual and to strengthen a more mature and sustainable democratic system.
“The term limits proposal aims to prevent excessive concentration of power, strengthen the democratic system and increase public confidence in the country’s governance institutions, in line with mature democratic practices internationally.”
The path to changing the structure
Azalina explained that the approval of the Council of Ministers was not given flippantly. Before making the choice, the federal government conducted a comprehensive review of policy inputs, public views and suggestions gathered through wide-ranging engagement sessions with various stakeholders.
After in-principle approval, the federal government will move to the subsequent stage: amending the Federal Constitution. The proposed constitutional amendment is predicted to be submitted to parliament during its current session.
In a recent statement, Azalina noted that a bill to amend the structure may very well be introduced before the top of the Dewan Rakyat session in early March. To adopt an amendment to the structure, the support of a two-thirds majority of parliament, i.e. at the least 148 out of 222 members, is required.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had earlier confirmed that the prime minister’s term limit bill is certainly one of 4 key pieces of laws to be introduced as a part of the federal government’s institutional reform program.
The issue has been on the reform agenda since March last 12 months, when Anwar instructed that the proposal be examined intimately at cabinet level.
Public support over time
There is especially strong public support for limiting the prime minister’s term of office. A public consultation conducted by the Legal Department showed that the overwhelming majority of respondents supported this policy.
Of the three,722 participants who took part within the week-long study, 89.9 percent expressed support for the principle of term limits, 8.27% were against it, and 1.75% remained undecided.
Historically, the thought of imposing a term limit on the Prime Minister will not be latest. The same policy was introduced in December 2019 under the Pakatan Harapan government, but work on the bill was delayed and it was ultimately withdrawn by the subsequent government in August 2020 before it reached second reading.
At the sub-national level, Penang became the primary state to introduce a two-term limit for the position of Prime Minister. The same move is currently being considered in Sabah, where Prime Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has announced plans to draft laws to limit the prime minister’s term to a maximum of two terms, or 10 years.
With the newest decision by the Cabinet, the proposal to impose term limits on the Prime Minister has returned to the formal legislative track, marking a vital milestone towards Malaysia’s political and institutional reforms.
