The Penang state government must be commended for having the courage to amend its constitution to limit the term of the Chief Minister to two.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has demonstrated great wisdom in leading his administration towards this end which is in line with the Pakatan Harapan (PH) manifesto in GE14.
I personally feel that the appropriate limit ought to be three terms as policies introduced often take time to mature before they can be said to be successful or not and perhaps two terms might be abit too short a time for a head of state to prove him/herself in this regard.
Furthermore, one term may not necessarily last a full five years which can limit the Chief Minister’s term to less than 10 years.
Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that limiting the term of the Chief Minister is a step in the right direction as this would encourage greater accountability on his/her part and would also motivate him/her to bring the state to greater heights since he knows that his/her term is limited.
The Federal government must follow Penang’s example by similarly limiting the term of the Prime Minister although it may face challenges in doing so as PH does not currently enjoy a two third majority in Parliament unlike the Penang state government.
In order for such a limit to be placed on the term of the Prime Minister, the Federal Constitution would have to be amended to introduce provision therein reflecting such a limit which requires that two third majority.
Regardless, it is hoped Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announces that a limit on the Prime Minister’s term will be practiced by way of convention until we achieve the required numbers in Parliament to amend the Federal Constitution accordingly, hopefully in the next general elections.
Syabas Penang for walking the talk!