KUALA LUMPUR — Putrajaya’s plan to table a bill to limit the prime minister’s tenure should incorporate the separation of the Prime Minister’s post and Finance Minister’s portfolio from being held by the same person, opposition lawmaker Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan said.
The Tasek Gelugor MP said it would be “no use if there were no curbs on the prime minister from holding the finance minister’s post”.
Wan Saiful said this on Facebook, where he posted of video of himself speaking on the same matter in the Dewan Rakyat recently.
He said that Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli had in 2015 submitted a private member’s bill in Parliament for a new law to force the prime minister to give up the finance minister’s post. This was when Datuk Seri Najib Razak was prime minister.
However, the Dewan Rakyat Speaker then, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, shot down the bill, saying it contravened the Ministers Functions Act 1969.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who heads PKR and the Pakatan Harapan coalition, has held the Finance Minister’s post since heading the government after the 2022 general election.
Wan Saiful urged Rafizi and his other PKR colleagues to re-table the bill for debate.
“If Pandan brings back the bill, I will support it,” said Wan Saiful, who is currently not with any party after being sacked by Bersatu.
Rafizi was replaced as Economy Minister in a cabinet reshuffle in December.
Earlier this month, Anwar said the government would table a bill to cap the prime minister’s tenure at a maximum of 10 years or two terms.
The bill, which will be tabled this year following a study on the proposed term limit, is also part of reforms promised by Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan in its election manifesto.
The Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department is currently collecting public views on the subject through an online survey from now until January 28. The survey can be accessed here. – January 23, 2026