This week, the government introduced two institutional reforms bills, namely the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2026 to separate the roles of the attorney-general (AG) and the public prosecutor (PP) and the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2026 which will limit a prime minister’s tenure to 10 years.

The bills were part of the reform agenda by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim when he was in the Opposition and introduced now, after he became the PM. The bills are a step in the right direction, but the Opposition and some government backbenchers are calling for the government to make major amendments to the bills or postpone their tabling next week.

Opposition Perikatan Nasional chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan said that the AG-PP separation bill “does not show anything that would place accountability or a check and balance on the AG or PP” and that the prime minister’s term bill may be against the federal constitution as the latter does not state a term limit when the king exercises his discretion to appoint a PM.

Some critics may not agree with Takiyuddin, saying that the king’s discretion is conditional on the proof of support by the majority of the MPs, irrespective of a term limit. The issue of the king’s discretion is a sticky point in the appointment of a PM and needs to be revisited. All the more reason why the bills should be referred to a Parliament Special Select Committee (PSSC), where these issues should be resolved.

With regard to the AG-PP bill, Takiyuddin explained the issue of a lack of accountability at a press conference yesterday: “In the constitution, it is provided that a minister must be accountable to Parliament and the cabinet, but the public prosecutor does not have to be accountable to anyone.” (Malaysiakini, Feb 26)

Takiyuddin said the Opposition wants the government to postpone its plan to table the bills and to refer the AG-PP bill to a PSSC first for a thorough scrutiny before being tabled.

He added that the PM’s term limit bill needed refinement to ensure accountability.

At the same time, 10 MPs from the PM’s party, PKR, want the government to make amendments to the AG-PP bill before they would vote in favour of it.

The PKR MPs’ primary demand is for Parliament to be involved in the appointment of a public prosecutor. They want the candidates selected by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) — which currently selects the candidates for the post of AG and recommends them to the king for appointment — to undergo a televised public confirmation hearing before a PSSC.

Following the hearing, the MPs are proposing that the candidate secure a simple majority vote in the Dewan Rakyat before being presented for royal assent.

This is different from the bill, which gives the discretion to appoint to the king. Under the bill, “the public prosecutor will be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, acting in his discretion, upon recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission and after consultation with the Conference of Rulers.” (Malaysiakini, Feb 23)

This suggests that the king has discretion over the JLSC’s recommendations. Some critics see this as unconstitutional as the constitution clearly states appointments are made according to the established conventions and on the advice of the PM.

The bill makes no mention of the constitutional requirement for the king to appoint on the advice of the PM.

If the appointments of the AG and PP, and the PM in the event of a hung Parliament, irrespective of a term limit, are left to the discretion of the king, questions will be raised as to whether these key leaders are democratically selected and fulfil constitutional requirements.

Some elements in both bills, as stated by the aforementioned MPs, do not make it clear that they fulfil constitutional and/or democratic requirements. Both the Opposition MPs and the 10 PKR MPs are right in proposing the amendments and requiring a PSSC to vet the bills thoroughly for conformity with the federal constitution.

It’s very disappointing that the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said who announced the tabling of the bill, did not ensure conformity with the constitution.

That should never have happened. Thankfully, the Opposition and the 10 PKR MPs caught the shortcomings that would have denied the people the mandate they give to their elected leaders to select their own leaders.

It is indeed brave of the 10 PKR MPs to stand up for the constitution and the democratic rights of the people over their own interests and the interests of the government they are a part of, where it conflicts with the interests of the people.

These MPs deserve to be recognised. The 10 PKR MPs are: Rafizi Ramli (Pandan), Wong Chen (Subang), Lee Chean Chung (Petaling Jaya), S Kesavan (Sg Siput), Onn Abu Bakar (Batu Pahat), Rodziah Ismail (Ampang), Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Setiawangsa), Zahir Hassan (Wangsa Maju), Hassan Karim (Pasir Gudang), and Bakhtiar Wan Chik (Balik Pulau).