PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA March 3, 2026 – The government has been urged to reflect on yesterday’s failure to pass the constitutional amendment limiting the Prime Minister’s term of office, said Putrajaya Member of Parliament Datuk Dr. Mohd Radzi Md Jidin.
He said Perikatan Nasional (PN) basically accepts the proposal to limit the Prime Minister’s tenure, but stressed that any constitutional amendment must be handled with great care and thoroughness.
“We have already explained during yesterday’s debate that we fundamentally accept the approach of limiting the Prime Minister’s term of service. However, we believe any amendment to the Constitution must be made with full diligence and precision,” he said in a social media post today.
The former Education Minister added that PN MPs had raised several important points during yesterday’s debate, including the need to refer the proposed amendment to the Conference of Rulers and to include a provision stating that the Prime Minister cannot simultaneously hold the Finance Minister portfolio.
“If the true intention is to prevent the concentration of power, it is extremely important to ensure the Prime Minister does not hold the position of Finance Minister,” he emphasised.
Dr Mohd Radzi also criticised the government for failing to ensure the attendance of its own MPs during the vote.
“The government has 154 MPs. To amend the Constitution, 148 votes are required. Yesterday, only 146 votes were in favour — short by two. Eight government-supporting MPs were absent,” he said.
He added that if the government has no intention of accepting the opposition’s requests for improvements, it should at least have ensured all its MPs were present to support the amendment.
“It is hoped that the government learns something from yesterday’s incident,” he concluded.
The constitutional amendment failed after the government motion received only 146 votes in favour — two short of the required two-thirds majority of 148 votes.
The development is expected to raise questions about the government’s commitment to delivering promised reforms, particularly those aimed at preventing the concentration of executive power.
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