KUALA LUMPUR: The Bill to cap the Prime Minister’s tenure at 10 years could have had a better outcome if it had been referred to a select committee earlier, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said the Bill’s outcome, which fell short of the required two-thirds majority by just two votes, underscored the need for early parliamentary scrutiny and bipartisan engagement on major constitutional reforms.
“For the opposition, it was a matter of principle as they wanted to leave full discretion to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“The way we look at the Constitution, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong will still select someone from among the names put forward by the legislature with majority support.
“The issue is that it can be anyone. It does not have to be the same person all the time, and we believe this is good progress for the country.
“What went wrong is that perhaps we should have sent it to a Select Committee first,” she said in an interview with The Star on Monday (July 6).
In March, the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2026 to limit the Prime Minister’s tenure to two terms failed to receive approval from the Dewan Rakyat after a bloc vote. The Bill received only 146 votes in favour of the amendment.
The Bill received heavy criticism from the opposition bloc, which stated that the amendments should, among other things, have received approval from the Conference of Rulers.
She added that the reform was aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability and checks and balances, while preventing long-term concentration of power.
“Unfortunately, we fell short by two votes. If we decide to bring the Bill back, we have to restart the process,” she added.
Azalina said she had also raised in Cabinet the need for political party leaders to debate constitutional amendments more openly if the proposal is reintroduced.
She added that constitutional reform cannot be treated like ordinary legislation as it involves the structure of government and requires careful groundwork, including engagement with MPs, stakeholders and legal experts.
“To secure a two-thirds majority for any institutional reform, you need to do proper groundwork by taking into account many different viewpoints,” she said.
