Retabling can happen in June or October when Parliament meets
CYBERJAYA: The Bill to cap the Prime Minister’s tenure to 10 years can be re-tabled as Parliament will meet again in June and October.
“We can bring back this Bill anytime. Some issues raised by the Opposition will be addressed.
“I believe that if the Opposition really understands, maybe we can keep engaging them.
“This is an issue of good governance, capping the PM’s tenure means there are principles of accountability. This Bill should have been supported by all MPs,” Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil (pic) told reporters after launching the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) here on Tuesday.
Later, Fahmi attended a buka puasa event with the Federal Territories Implementation Coordination Unit at Masjid Al-Khadijah.
Parliament will meet again from June 22 to July 16, and from Oct 5 to Dec 8.
Fahmi also said backbenchers who did not vote to cap the Prime Minister’s tenure at 10 years should answer to their voters and their respective parties.
“First, they need to explain to the voters they are representing, and second, to their respective party whips.
“We don’t care if the Opposition (were absent). There are some of them whose attendance is very low. But, for the backbencher MPs, we must be present,” said Fahmi, adding that checks with the Speaker’s Office found that all Pakatan Harapan MPs were present, while three from Barisan Nasional were absent.
Others on the absentee list include one each from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and Parti Bangsa Malaysia, along with two PAS MPs.
According to Fahmi, Libaran MP Datuk Suhaimi Nasir was absent because he was in hospital, while Tapah MP Datuk Seri Saravanan Murugan was attending prayers.
“Some even said they were caught in a traffic jam,” said Fahmi, referring to Julau MP Datuk Larry Sng, who said traffic issues prevented him from reaching the Dewan Rakyat in time to vote for the constitutional amendments to cap the premier’s term.
“It’s just that, Bukit Gantang MP (Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal) gave an unusual answer,” added Fahmi, who referred to an earlier remark by Syed Abu where he said he was absent from the vote because he disagreed with the cap on the premier’s tenure.
Fahmi said the instructions given by the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof was for all backbenchers to be present.
“The DPM looked a bit disappointed that his eight MPs were not present,” he added.
At the same time, Fahmi said the Opposition’s refusal to vote for such a crucial constitutional amendment is a signal that they want Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to remain as premier.
“For that, we say thank you,” he added.
On Monday, the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2026 to limit the Prime Minister’s tenure to two terms failed to receive two-thirds approval from Dewan Rakyat after a bloc vote.
A total of 146 MPs voted in favour, 44 abstained, while 32 were absent.
