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MALAYSIA’S proposal to limit a prime minister’s tenure to 10 years has been broadly welcomed by governance watchdogs, but they warn the move could amount to little more than symbolism unless it is firmly embedded in the Federal Constitution and protected from loopholes, transitional manoeuvres and political compromise.
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) head Raymon Ram said the long-overdue reform must be clearly entrenched in constitutional law, cautioning that anything less would risk it becoming cosmetic. He stressed, however, that term limits alone would not cure corruption or governance failures.
“Without these supporting reforms, changing the clock does not change the system,” he told the New Straits Times.
Raymon said a tenure cap would need to be accompanied by other institutional reforms, including political financing laws, meaningful asset declarations, robust parliamentary oversight and genuinely independent institutions capable of acting without favour.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said yesterday that the government had agreed in principle to limit a prime minister’s tenure to 10 years.
She said several related amendments to the Federal Constitution were expected to be tabled in Parliament during the current sitting.
On concerns about leadership succession, Raymon said any inability to produce capable leaders under a term-limit framework would reflect failures within political parties and the broader political system, rather than the Constitution itself.
“Parties must stop recycling the same personalities and start building leadership pipelines grounded in competence, integrity, and performance rather than loyalty or patronage.
“Clean rules produce good leaders. When money politics is controlled, standards are enforced, and abuse carries real consequences, capable people are more willing to step forward,” he added.
Malaysia Corruption Watch president Jais Abdul Karim also welcomed the announcement, arguing that prolonged and unlimited power lay at the heart of abuse, cronyism and the erosion of checks and balances.
“Term limits are not about individuals, but about the system, to ensure that no one becomes bigger than the institutions or the law,” he said.
He emphasised that the proposal must be translated into unambiguous and non-manipulable constitutional amendments.
“The term limit must be final and absolute, meaning a maximum of 10 years, with no breaks or reset mechanisms to circumvent the cap,” he said.
Bersih chairman Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz said the reform had already been outlined in Membangun Negara Madani: Vision and Policy Framework for Reform, authored by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, making it incumbent on him to ensure its full implementation.
He said Bersih, which has long campaigned for such a measure, believed it would encourage discipline in policymaking and delivery, while opening space for generational renewal in leadership.
Good leaders, he added, were those who prepared capable successors, and the reform would give the next generation an opportunity to lead, strengthening political and economic stability.
“This (proposal) would mark a significant milestone in Malaysia’s democratic and governance history if approved by Parliament.
“If approved, Malaysia would become the first country in a classic Westminster model, as practised in the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Canada, Singapore, and others, to impose a tenure limit on the prime minister,” he said. - February 1, 2026