PM term limit, AG-PP split: DAP wants both Bills tabled in Oct-Dec sitting

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — DAP is pushing for two constitutional reform Bills covering the prime minister’s tenure and the separation of the attorney general and public prosecutor to be brought back to the Dewan Rakyat when its next sitting begins on October 5.

DAP chairman Gobind Singh Deo said both draft Bills were ready and should be tabled during the sitting, which runs until December 8.

“The matter has been discussed and the drafts are ready. I have asked for both Bills to be tabled,” he was quoted by The New Straits Times as saying today.

According to Gobind, de facto Law and Institutional Reform Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said that the Bills were ready as part of the government’s institutional reform agenda.

The proposed prime ministerial term-limit amendment would cap a person’s tenure as prime minister at 10 years.

The measure narrowly failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat in March, receiving 146 votes in favour — two short of the 148 needed.

Following the defeat, Deputy Prime Minister II Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the government was confident of securing sufficient support when the Bill was retabled and that government MPs would support it.

Azalina said on September 3 that the Bill was now ready for its second reading, although its tabling and voting would be subject to the decision of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as leader of the House.

She also said the constitutional amendments would require a two-thirds majority.

Gobind said the term-limit proposal should be refined before its second reading.

The other reform would separate the attorney general’s role as the government’s legal adviser from that of the public prosecutor, who oversees criminal prosecutions.

The proposed separation was referred to a parliamentary special select committee for further scrutiny after being tabled earlier this year, with the draft subsequently revised.

Azalina said the revised proposal was also ready for Parliament and that the changes included a greater role for Parliament in scrutinising the appointment of the public prosecutor.

Gobind also said DAP had also raised the vacant attorney general’s post and equal allocations for elected representatives at its central executive committee meeting, with both matters to be brought to the central Pakatan Harapan leadership.

“We hope the appointment process can be completed as soon as possible, including taking into account the views of the public and opposition MPs,” he was quoted as saying.

He said the appointment of the attorney general and public prosecutor should be free from political discrimination.

“We respect the mandate given to every elected representative,” he added.