MalayMail-Jan 29
Nearly nine in 10 respondents support imposing a limit on the Malaysian prime minister’s tenure, with a clear majority favoring a two-term cap over a fixed maximum of 10 years, according to a government survey. Deputy director general (Policy & Development), Legal Affairs Division, Datuk Punitha Silivarajoo said 89.9 percent of respondents agreed that there should be a maximum limit on the prime minister’s tenure. A total of 3,722 respondents were polled in the survey, which ran from January 22 to 28. “Among all respondents, 62.25 percent opted for a two-term limit for the prime minister, compared with 20.61 percent who backed a maximum tenure of 10 years. The remaining 17.14 percent favored having no limit or supported other alternatives”, she told a town hall session on the proposal to limit the prime minister’s tenure at the Legal Affairs Division here.
While a two-term limit would pose no handover issues, a 10-year limit would require constitutional clarity on whether the prime minister must resign immediately upon reaching the maximum number of years in office, even if Parliament has yet to be dissolved. Punitha said opinions were divided, with the majority supporting the Cabinet’s position being determined by the Federal Constitution at 39.84 percent, followed by those who favored the entire Cabinet resigning alongside the prime minister at 37.99 percent and those who supported only the prime minister stepping down at 20.47 per cent. Read more at: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/29/poll-majority-of-respondents-favour-two-term-cap-over-10-year-limit-for-prime-ministers/207259
