Malaysia’s ruling coalition suffered a setback in its bid to pass legislation restricting the prime minister to a maximum of two terms, after it failed to get a two-thirds majority from lawmakers.The Southeast Asian nation currently has no cap on how many terms a premier can serve.Lower house speaker Johari Abdul said 146 MPs backed the highly anticipated bill, leaving it two votes shy of the two-thirds majority of 148 required to amend the constitution.
A total of 44 MPs abstained, while another 32 were absent. Lawmakers across the aisle backed term limits in the debate, but several flagged unresolved issues on calculating the cap and handling the transition once a prime minister reaches it.Ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the suggested term limits “are not a denial of leadership opportunities, but rather an effort to ensure that this country continues to be guided by institutions that function and are not tied to any individual.””In fact, this amendment strengthens the constitutional structure through a clear provision to strengthen the country’s system of checks and balances,” Anwar told lawmakers.Former leader Mahathir Mohamad held office for 24 years across two stints — from 1981 to 2003 and again between 2018 and 2020.Anwar in January announced a push for a two-term limit amid renewed calls for him to tackle corruption and improve governance.In its election manifesto in 2022, Anwar’s ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition pledged a two-term limit on the premiership.But there has been criticism about the slow pace of reform, local media reports said, with the latest move seen as an attempt to win back urban voters in the run-up to general elections slated for next year.Anwar last month said that if the law was implemented, it would apply to him first.He added that a 10-year period was sufficient for those in office to carry out their responsibilities effectively.If the government chooses to press ahead, the bill would now have to be revised and reintroduced at a future parliamentary sitting, constitutional lawyer Lim Wei Jiet told AFP.”I’m not sure whether the government is going to reintroduce it soon … it must have been a bit embarrassing on their part that it was not able to be passed, they may not want to revisit this episode again,” Lim said.