PUTRAJAYA, Aug 13 — Reform that requires amendments to the Federal Constitution could take longer to implement without a supermajority control of the Lower House, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
This may include Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) long-term plan to limit the tenure of a prime minister to just two terms, he told a press conference here after announcing the government's plan to place two key agencies under Parliament watch.
"For example, limiting to just two (terms) the prime minister's tenure, it can't be done because we do not have a two-thirds majority in Parliament," Dr Mahathir said.
"But for some things, if we can get the Opposition parties to agree to give their support, then we will start taking action that will require it to be passed by two-thirds."
Earlier, Dr Mahathir announced the government's decision to transfer the Prime Minister's Office jurisdictional powers over the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Audit Department to a parliament select committee.
The move was part of the new administration's institutional reform efforts to decentralise the prime minister's power to prevent abuse.
PH said placing key institutions under Parliament control will restore independence.
But Dr Mahathir said some of the proposals may take time to execute because PH will need two-third parliamentary support, which entails negotiations with the Opposition.
