KUALA LUMPUR – A landmark bid to cap the prime minister’s tenure at 10 years fell short in the Dewan Rakyat today after failing to secure the constitutionally required two-thirds majority, drawing sharp reactions from leaders within the Madani coalition.
DAP’s Secretary General Anthony Loke, voiced his disappointment following the vote, stressing that all 40 DAP MPs were present and supported the amendment.
A total of 146 MPs voted in favour of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 — just two votes shy of the 148 needed for a two-thirds majority.
In the same division, 44 MPs abstained while 32 were absent.
Loke urged civil society groups and reform-minded voters to hold accountable those who failed to support the amendment.
“Civil society members and voters who want to see institutional reform should question and condemn MPs who were absent or did not support this amendment, including those from the opposition bloc,” he said in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, Wong Chen (Subang MP) of PKR described the outcome as a “major blow to the Madani government”, noting that all PKR MPs had attended and voted in favour of the proposal.
“We need to determine how many MPs from the Madani government failed to turn up,” he said.
His party colleague, Sim Tze Tzin, also expressed regret over the result, saying Malaysia had missed a historic opportunity to strengthen its democratic framework.
“Today’s vote recorded 146 in favour, with 44 abstentions and 32 absences. We were unable to secure this historic change. Malaysia has missed an opportunity to make our country more democratic,” he said, adding that it takes a reform-minded prime minister to voluntarily limit his own powers.
Meanwhile, Vivek Saravanan, private secretary and political aide to Datuk Seri Saravanan, said the Tapah MP was unable to attend the vote as he was in Pulau Pangkor for prayers.
“Datuk Seri was attending religious prayers and couldn’t return in time for the sitting. On a personal basis, he does not agree with prioritising this amendment, as there are other pressing matters that deserve greater focus,” Vivek told Scoop when contacted.
The Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 was tabled on February 23 by Law and Institutional Reform Minister Azalina Othman Said.
The proposed amendment sought to impose a lifetime limit of 10 years on the office of prime minister, with time served counted cumulatively, whether across consecutive or separate terms.
Under the proposal, once the limit is reached, the prime minister and the Cabinet would be required to resign, although the prime minister could remain in a caretaker capacity until a successor is appointed.
During the debate, MPs from both sides of the aisle expressed general support for the principle of term limits, though several raised concerns over how the tenure would be calculated and how transitions would be managed once the cap is reached.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the limit would apply to him first. Azalina further clarified that former prime ministers who have already served more than 10 years would be ineligible for reappointment should the amendment come into force. — March 2, 2026