<figure id="attachment_3116436" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3116436" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3116436 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/7579fa1b-dewan-rakyat-bernama-pic-23725.webp" alt="dewan rakyat" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3116436" class="wp-caption-text">The Dewan Rakyat failed to pass the bill to limit the prime minister’s term to 10 years after it did not secure a two-thirds majority on Monday. (Bernama pic)</figcaption></figure>
PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet has decided to retable the bill to cap the prime minister’s tenure at 10 years at the next Dewan Rakyat meeting in June, government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said today.
“We hope and will strive towards ensuring that all government backbenchers will attend (the Dewan Rakyat sitting) to pass this crucial constitutional amendment,” he told a post-Cabinet press conference.
The move comes after the bill failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.
A total of 146 MPs voted in favour, 44 abstained, and 32 were absent. The bill needed at least 148 votes to meet the two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment.
Of the 32 MPs absent, eight were government backbenchers.
Fahmi said two of the absent backbenchers had submitted written explanations to the government’s chief whip, deputy prime minister II Fadillah Yusof.
Asked whether the government would take action against the backbenchers, he said it was up to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as leader of the House, to decide.
The eight were M Saravanan (Tapah), Suhaimi Nasir (Libaran), Hishammuddin Hussein (Sembrong), Larry Sng (Julau), Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Henry Sum Agong (Lawas), Riduan Rubin (Tenom) and former Sabah deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan (Keningau).
Suhaimi was unable to attend the sitting as he was hospitalised, while Saravanan was absent as he had to attend prayers.
Sng told FMT he was unable to return to Parliament in time to vote for the bill because he was stuck in traffic, while Syed Hussin said he chose not to vote as he disagreed with the proposed law.
&#8216;Opposition unclear on the bill&#8217;
Fahmi, who is also the communications minister, called out opposition MPs for misunderstanding the bill&#8217;s intent, saying some of them had told a minister the MPs were voting on “allowing Anwar to serve for 10 years”.
“The Cabinet was informed of this. We do not know how the opposition could have misunderstood it.
“By right, all the MPs should have understood that this effort was made to prevent a situation in which a prime minister feels he can do anything he wants as he would remain indefinitely in power.
“I hope that in the next (Dewan) sitting, the opposition will join the government to ensure that this non-partisan constitutional amendment, which can only benefit our democracy, will be passed,” he said.
Fahmi also said law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said had informed the Cabinet that the special parliamentary committee formed to deliberate on the bill to separate the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor will have its first meeting on March 16.
He said it will take about three months to compile feedback and work on improvements to the bill.

MatchPoint Times

Govt to retable bill to cap PM’s term in June

Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil hopes that all backbenchers will be present to back the constitutional amendment.

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