Bill to limit tenure of prime minister's term does not have major impact on the livelihood of the people, says Sng

KUCHING, March 7 2026: Julau MP Larry Sng (picture) said that it does not “actually have a major impact on livelihood of the people” whether or not a Bill to limit the tenure of term of prime minister to 10 years is passed in parliament.

 “None of my constituents are up in arms that it wasn’t passed nor even a mention on my usual walk about.

“Some may even question the need for such an amendment given that Malaysia had been developed the fastest under a certain prime minister who lasted longer than 10 years,” Sng said on his Facebook post.

Sng, who is Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) president, is one of the government MPs who were absent when the Bill was put to vote in parliament.

The bill was not passed for the failure to reach the two-third majority that was required to amend the Federal Constitution.

Nevertheless, he said he is sure when the Bill comes around to be retabled, it will likely be passed without issue.

“Nonetheless there are a few key take away from this,” he adding, that firstly, the Back-Benchers Club (BBC) needs to play a more proactive role as it had in the past especially under an Umno chairman, who monitored and made sure that every vote turns up.

“This was the case under Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatana Nasional (PN) governments.

“Pakatan Harapan (PH) and especially PKR leaders are less sensitive and perhaps this is a lesson learned,” he opined.

Sng also suggested that MPs from smaller parties should be given a bigger role to play, saying that currently those parties that are not part of the four big government blocks namely PH, BN, GPS and GRS, have limited role and influence in government.

“However in terms of numbers they are quite sizable, 11 MPs in total (namely PBM, STAR, KDM and Independents).

“Perhaps MCA and MIC can also be added to the list given that they too have voiced displeasure to being marginalised by BN,” he said.

He also said civil societies need to network with MPs and should know their limitations., saying that excessive criticism of MPs would limit their influence in parliament.

“Besides, if they are so influential as some think, perhaps they should run for elections,” he suggested, adding that there is no point talking about checks and balances if at the end of the day “you only make noise.”

Sng said as fourth-term legislator having served in the state andfederal governments, he personally prefers a strong authoritarian leader who can deliver results rather than a weak leader who needs to please everyone.

“Difficult decisions require strong leadership. Doesn’t really matter how long they are there as long as they get the job done.

“Even though that’s my personal view but as a government MP, I will always vote along government lines,” he said.