YOURSAY | ‘Indeed, there are only a few reforms that need constitutional amendments.’

Dr M: We need two-thirds to limit PM's tenure

Kim Quek: After refusing to carry out the numerous promised reforms that need no constitutional amendment, it is only too obvious that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is now using the two-thirds majority as a false justification to rope in corrupt and opportunistic defectors of Umno en masse to revive his former absolute rule.

There are only a few reforms that need constitutional amendments, and as a reformist regime, Pakatan Harapan should do it by seeking consensus, not by flexing brute muscles as Umno had done numerous times, mostly under Mahathir’s autocratic rule.

After all, there is hardly any democracy in the world where the ruling party has a two-thirds majority in parliament, and yet they have no problem practising exemplary democracy and rule of law.

Anonymous 1689721435778173: If Mahathir is talking about getting two-thirds support to limit the tenure of the prime minister or reduce the voting age to 18, I am sure he can get the support of the opposition.

Indeed, this is just an excuse for Bersatu to take in more Umno MPs.

Salvage Malaysia: How do you know whether the opposition will support the changes or not? Put it up first.

If it is proven that the opposition doesn’t support what is good for the country, then Bersatu has a valid reason to pull Umno members in.

I’m sure BN will also support limiting the prime minister to two terms in office.

Anonymous _49d8b96c: I bet that Mahathir will carry out his mission to leave behind a good legacy to all Malaysians by separating the three branches of government - the executive, legislature and judiciary - before he leaves the political scene.

Under his watch, Tommy Thomas was appointed as the attorney-general; Lim Guan Eng was appointed as finance minister; Mahathir himself withdrew as the education minister.

‘Bossku’ and gang were charged; megaprojects were reviewed and revalued; MACC and Bank Negara had new chiefs; a new inspector-general of police is in the offing.

The Economic Action Council (EAC) was recently formed; the press and media have more freedom; toll rates reductions are on the way; the goods and services tax (GST) was replaced with the sales and service tax; GST tax refunds are flowing back into the economy.

Smokers cannot smoke wherever they want; accounts of many corrupted parties were frozen; and the superyacht Equanimity was recovered.

And now, Mahathir wanted to reduce voters’ minimum age and the tenure of the prime minister. All these occurred in less than a year. All are real, tangible and desirable deliverables.

Mahathir is not perfect as a human, while ‘Bossku’ is a proven kleptomaniac. Who do you choose? Accepting the reality that both are not angels, a lesser evil is naturally a better bet.

YM: Dear Mahathir, you have fallen short even on policies requiring a simple majority, turned your back on them and even made 180-degree flips on your promises.

What makes you think we would believe that you would serve a greater cause with a two-thirds majority?

It's no longer about BN in ‘new Malaysia’, but about Harapan making good on its manifesto instead of being ridiculed for drifting towards Mahathir's Umno era.

Quigonbond: Do it the right way, Mahathir, not through accepting defectors who abetted a corrupt regime. Try to reach across the aisle first.

The opposition will jump with joy for some of these reforms. You don't need a two-thirds majority for those.

You are beset by a brute force mindset. The future lies in clever negotiation. You should only ask the country to give you a two-thirds mandate if that fails.

Fairplayer: A two-thirds majority is treacherous waters, particularly when a sitting prime minister is seen to U-turn on so many GE14 promises and give many lame excuses for not fulfilling them after 10 months.

Surely a two-term limit for the prime minister can be thrown to the votes in the Dewan Rakyat. This is a matter of political will. Please stop pulling wool over the rakyat's eyes.

Hmmm: Yes, this is just a ridiculous excuse for a power grab. Just table the bill and you'll see that you'll have cross-partisan support for on this issue.

How do you know before you try? The rakyat will never again give a two-thirds majority to any party or coalition.

Frankie: You're only a dozen seats away from the two-thirds majority. I'm sure there'll be support from the opposite side if they see it's good for the country, like limiting the premiership to two terms.

Please do not keep on using the excuse that you've not enough MPs to justify the delaying of reforms. Give it a go and we can all find out if our MPs do support reforms or not.

TCM: We want real change, but are also afraid of giving a two-thirds majority to the government.

This is a Catch-22 situation we have put ourselves in. In order to make meaningful amendments to the constitution, such as no frogs, term limits, rebalancing of constituencies, Harapan needs a two-thirds majority.

We refuse to give that to them until they make some meaningful changes, and so we go back and forth like poor Captain John Yossarian, the protagonist of Joseph Heller’s novel.

We must have faith that deep down, Mahathir and the rest still have Malaysia in their hearts and as their first priority.

Spinnot: Party-hopping is worse than having a prime minister staying in office for more than two terms.

Harapan doesn't need a two-thirds majority to enact an anti-hopping law. The opposition will support it to prevent their MPs from leapfrogging to Bersatu.

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