KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat failed to pass the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 which seeks to limit the prime minister’s tenure to 10 years after it received 146 votes in favour, 44 members abstaining and 32 absent.
The vote was taken after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tabled the bill for its second reading.
For the bill to be passed it requires two-third’s majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
The decision was announced by the Dewan Rakyat speaker, Tan Sri Johari Abdul, after it was debated by 41 government and opposition members of Parliament.
Meanwhile in winding up the debate, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said a prime minister who has completed the maximum 10-year term may continue serving as a member of parliament or be appointed to a position in the cabinet if his or her experience and expertise are still required.
She said this would ensure continuity of experience even as the country’s top leadership changes in an institutional and orderly manner.
“If a prime minister has served with distinction throughout the maximum term, his or her experience and expertise do not cease to benefit the nation.
“He or she may continue to serve as a member of the Dewan Rakyat or be appointed to another position in the cabinet, such as senior minister,” she said as quoted by NST.
According to Azalina, the people determine the government through elections, while the Constitution determines the limits of an individual’s power.
Under this Bill, Article 43 of the Federal Constitution will be amended to introduce a 10-year limit on the prime minister’s tenure.
The proposed new Clause 2(a) stipulates that a prime minister shall not hold office for more than 10 years, whether consecutively or otherwise.
A new Clause (4b) provides that the Cabinet will be dissolved once the prime minister’s tenure ends.
Under Clause (4c), the outgoing prime minister and Cabinet may continue in a caretaker capacity with limited powers until a new government is formed.
The amendment also provides that any tenure served before the law comes into force will be counted towards the 10-year limit.
