FEBRUARY 2 — On December 3, 2019, the Constitutional (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2009 was tabled by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Liew Vui Keong in the Dewan Rakyat for its reading.
The Bill sought to amend Article 43(2) of the Federal Constitution by substituting for paragraph (a) the following paragraph:
(a) the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint as Perdana Menteri (Prime Minister) to preside over the Cabinet a member of the House of Representatives —
(i) who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House; and
(ii) who has not at any time held the office of Prime Minister for two terms of Parliament.
The Explanatory Statement to the Bill explained the above paragraph as seeking “to provide for additional criteria in relation to the qualification of a member of the House of Representatives to be appointed as prime minister.
Through the proposed amendment, “a member of the House of Representatives shall not be appointed Prime Minister if he has held the office of Prime Minister for two terms of Parliament.”
The Bill (DR 42/2019) is available on the official website of Parliament.
On December 3, 2019, the Constitutional (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2009 was tabled by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Liew Vui Keong in the Dewan Rakyat for its reading. — Bernama pic
The government then was the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government with Dr Mahathir Mohamad the prime minister for the second time.
On August 26, 2020, the Bill was withdrawn by Takiyuddin Hassan who succeeded Liew. The withdrawal was made under Clause 62 of the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders.
The government then was the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government with Muhyiddin Yassin the prime minister.
Two days ago, on January 31, Takiyuddin’s successor Azalina Othman Said said in a press statement that the government had decided to introduce a 10-year limit on the tenure of the prime minister.
“The government has agreed to the policy proposal to limit the tenure of the prime minister to 10 years as a key measure to strengthen the principles of accountability, checks and balances, and constitutional governance under the Madani government institutional reform agenda, during yesterday’s weekly Cabinet meeting,” the statement said.
“The government will proceed with the necessary amendments to the Federal Constitution, which are expected to be tabled in Parliament during the current session,” the statement added.
Accordingly, the public can expect that the withdrawn Constitutional (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2009 to be reintroduced as the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2026 which will seek to amend Article 43(2) of the Federal Constitution by substituting for paragraph (a) the following paragraph:
(a) the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint as Perdana Menteri (Prime Minister) to preside over the Cabinet a member of the House of Representatives —
(i) who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House; and
(ii) who has not at any time held the office of Prime Minister for 10 years.
That’s how a 10-year limit can be placed on the tenure of a prime minister.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
