Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, has announced plans to introduce legislation this year to limit the tenure of the country’s prime minister to a maximum of 10 years, fulfilling a key campaign promise of his administration.
Anwar made the announcement on Monday while addressing ministers and civil servants after a cabinet meeting, cautioning against the dangers of clinging to power and stressing that leadership must come with clear limits.
“We will table a bill to limit the term of the prime minister, not exceeding 10 years or two full terms,” Anwar said in a special New Year’s address.
He added that after serving the maximum term, leaders should willingly step aside for the next generation. “It is better for us to hand it over to the next generation,” he said.
Currently, Malaysia has no constitutional or legal limit on how long a prime minister can remain in office. Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad notably ruled the country for 22 years during his first tenure before stepping down in 2003.
Mahathir later returned from retirement to lead a broad opposition coalition that defeated the corruption-hit government of then prime minister Najib Razak in the 2018 general elections. At 92, Mahathir became the world’s oldest serving prime minister when he was sworn in again that year.
Anwar did not specify when the proposed term-limit bill would be formally presented to parliament, although lawmakers are expected to convene for the first legislative session of the year later this month.
His Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition had pledged in its 2022 election manifesto to restrict the prime minister’s tenure to two terms as part of broader political reforms.
In a related development, Anwar also announced plans to introduce a Freedom of Information Bill and legislation to establish the office of an ombudsman, aimed at strengthening transparency and the fight against corruption.
“The ombudsman allows the people to raise any issues because without exception, from the prime minister downwards, everyone must be accountable and open to be questioned,” he said.
The reform push comes amid renewed focus on accountability in Malaysia’s political system. Last month, the country’s High Court sentenced former prime minister Najib Razak to an additional 15 years in prison after convicting him of abuse of power and money laundering linked to the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund scandal.
The new sentence will begin after Najib, 72, completes his current six-year jail term in a separate case related to the now-defunct 1MDB fund.
