PUTRAJAYA: A bill to limit the Prime Minister’s term to no more than 10 years or two full terms has been drafted by the government and will be tabled in Parliament this year, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
According to the Prime Minister, the bill is among the institutional reforms implemented by the government for this year’s parliamentary session.
“Everyone has a term limit, the Chief Secretary to the Government cannot be up to 10 years. It also applies to everyone… it is better for us to hand it over to the next generation.
“This also applies to the Prime Minister’s Department, so we will table a bill to limit the term of office of the prime minister to no more than 10 years or two full terms,” said Anwar in his speech at a special address in Putrajaya on Monday (Jan 5).
He said the Bill to limit the PM’s term will be tabled when the next Parliament sitting resumes at the end of the month, together with another proposed Bill to separate the powers of the Attorney-General and the Public Prosecutor, the freedom of information bill, and the Ombudsman Bill.
Anwar also shared a light moment with civil servants when he announced the bill to limit the prime minister’s term.
“Those who clapped, please take down their names,” Anwar joked.
Meanwhile, Anwar highlighted the slew of achievements by the Madani government since 2022, including the strengthening of the ringgit, the RON95 fuel subsidy rationalisation and record high foreign direct investments to Malaysia last year.
“Foreign investments rose to RM285.8bil, an increase of 13.2%.
“Trade in Malaysia from Jan to Nov last year amounted to RM2.8tril, which is an increase of 5.8%.
“Malaysia is not a small country. We have great potential here,” said Anwar.
Historically, Malaysia had no term limits for its prime ministers, allowing them to serve indefinitely as long as they maintain parliamentary support. In 2019, a bill was introduced to cap the tenure at two terms to prevent power abuse, but it failed to become law.
