MALAYSIA: The government of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has promised that 2026 will be a year of reforms. One of the reforms he intends to carry out focuses on limiting the PM’s term to 10 years.
However, opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin urged Anwar to separate the finance portfolio from the Prime Minister’s Office, calling it more important than limiting the PM’s term.
“It’s fine for a prime minister to helm other ministries but not finance as this holds a lot of power,” he said, adding that this is crucial to prevent corruption.
“Perikatan Nasional (the opposition coalition), however, will not oppose the proposed two-term limit for the prime minister post, albeit with several criteria,” he said when debating the royal address in the Parliament on Tuesday (Jan 20).
Hamza’s proposal makes sense. Najib Razak, the former Prime Minister currently in jail, also held the post of finance minister, and this did not end well for the country either. Billions were siphoned from Malaysia’s treasury.
Najib is in jail over the 1MDB scandal, a scandal that has rocked the globe, turning the former PM into an international kleptocrat.
1MDB was listed under the Ministry of Finance Inc, which was headed by Najib as Finance Minister. Najib tried to hide the massive fraud under the carpet and is now also condemned for abuse of power. He tried to obstruct the course of justice and block investigations while he was PM.
“For example, a prime minister cannot also hold the post of finance minister. This is because we believe that the principle of accountability must be upheld by dividing the role of the (finance) ministry with the prime minister position,” said Hamzah.
For once, we must here agree with the opposition. There is a risk that the current Prime Minister—or a future one—could succumb to the same temptations that lured Najib Razak into a dark abyss. And this will have even greater consequences for Malaysia.
Another of the reforms Anwar intends to carry out focuses on insulating the judiciary and prosecution from executive interference. This, too, is now under fire.
On Thursday (Jan 22), a prominent member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) lambasted the Minister of Home Affairs, Saifuddin Nasution, over the infamous Sedition Act.
The DAP MP Ramkarpal Singh slammed the government’s ongoing enforcement of the Sedition Act 1948, calling it a betrayal of reform promises.
In a media statement, Ramkarpal, who is also the DAP National Legal Bureau chairman, questioned the Home Minister for defending the use of the act against a local journalist whose mistake was to ask a silly question to former UK Member of Parliament George Galloway.
In a written reply to Jelutong MP RSN Rayer’s question on why the said Act is still being used despite Pakatan Harapan’s commitment in the past to repeal it, the Home Minister (who is a leader of Anwar’s party, PKR) said that it will be used as long as it is still in force.
The Minister went on further to state that the said Act would continue to be used sparingly, while it is being reviewed, only in cases involving the Royal Institution and national sovereignty.
Ramkarpal also said it is high time that the government discloses the status of the review process of the said Act and when amendments to it will be tabled, debated, or if it will be replaced with legislation to specifically protect the Royal Institution.
“It has been nearly 3 years since the government announced that the said Act will be reviewed and Malaysians have the right to know if this promise will be fulfilled instead of being further delayed.”
