Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Monday that he plans to introduce legislation this year to limit the tenure of future prime ministers to a maximum of 10 years, fulfilling a key campaign promise.
Speaking to ministers and civil servants after a cabinet meeting, Anwar warned against clinging to power, emphasizing that “everyone has a term limit” without exception.
“We will table a bill to limit the term of the prime minister to no more than 10 years, or two full terms,” he said in a special New Year’s announcement. “After serving the term, it is better to hand it over to the next generation.”
Currently, Malaysia has no term limit. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad served 22 years during his first tenure before stepping down in 2003. He later returned from retirement in 2018 to lead a coalition that ousted the graft-tainted government of then-Prime Minister Najib Razak, becoming the world’s oldest serving prime minister at age 92.
Anwar did not specify when the term limits bill would be filed. Malaysia’s parliament is scheduled to hold its first session of the year later this month. His coalition, Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope), pledged in its 2022 election manifesto to cap the prime minister’s tenure at two terms.
In a related announcement, Anwar said the government would also introduce a freedom of information bill and establish the office of an ombudsman to strengthen anti-corruption measures.
“The ombudsman allows the people to raise any issues because, without exception—from the prime minister downwards—everyone must be accountable and open to questioning,” he said.
The announcements come shortly after Malaysia’s High Court sentenced former Prime Minister Najib Razak to an additional 15 years in prison for abuse of power and money laundering in the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund scandal. The additional sentence will begin after Najib, 72, completes his current six-year term for a related 1MDB case.
