‘Who wants power forever?’: Azalina confirms PM term limit bill retabled in October

The bill to cap the prime minister’s tenure to a maximum of 10 years will be retabled during the next Parliament sitting in October, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said confirmed today. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

By Dhesegaan Bala Krishnan

First Published: Tuesday, 18 Aug 2026 6:00 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — The bill to cap the prime minister’s tenure to a maximum of 10 years will be retabled during the next Parliament sitting in October, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said confirmed today.

When asked if the government could secure a two-thirds majority for the bill, Azalina briefly said: “Looks good. Everyone wants a reform work. Who wants power forever?”

The bill, first tabled in March, fell through because it was short of two votes from the two-thirds mark, or 148 votes, which are mandatory for constitutional amendments.  

The bill was also not retabled during the last Parliament sitting in July despite assurances from Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil that it would be revived.

Earlier today, Azalina said accountability must also apply to political leaders as the people expect those in power to be answerable for the decisions that they make.

“If we are serious about accountability, we must also be prepared to place limits upon our own power,” Azalina said in her keynote address at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia’s 2026 Praxis conference at the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur today.

Azalina said the Madani administration led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has implemented some of Malaysia’s most substantial reforms in recent decades.

She said these reforms include the abolition of the death penalty, placing government procurement under Parliament’s scrutiny and reinstating Parliament’s control over its own staffing, administration and resources.