Azalina: Putrajaya to commission study before drafting ‘fixed term’ Bill after DPM’s proposal

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 — Putrajaya confirmed today it is considering a Fixed Term Parliament Act and will be conducting an in-depth study, an impact study and obtaining public opinion for the Cabinet to assess its implementation.

Following the suggestion by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamid, de facto law minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said Azalina said that the Bill is proposed to show the government’s respect of voters’ mandate and the democratic process, and to ensure political stability.

“The fixed-term parliamentary system is also practised by many countries to ensure political and economic stability and to prevent any seizure of power that is harmful to the country’s parliamentary democracy,” the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said in a statement here.

She also denied that the Bill was proposed because the Anwar administration wishes to cling to power.

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The idea was first mooted yesterday by Ahmad Zahid to allow an elected government to serve for its full five-year tenure and at the same time prevent usurping the government.

Earlier today, PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan disagreed with the suggestion and said Ahmad Zahid’s suggestion was unconstitutional.

His suggestion follows persistent rumours of a backdoor deal between the Opposition and certain members of the ruling parties in Anwar’s “unity government”, the latest dubbed the “Dubai Move”.

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A rapid succession of governments from February 2020 following the “Sheraton Move” at the start of the Covid-19 global outbreak has been blamed for flagging foreign investor confidence in Malaysia, impeding its post-economic pandemic recovery.