THE two men synonymous with promoting and defending the era of the all-powerful prime minister are now working against the clock to make sure that the Malaysian PM will never again be able to do as he pleases.

Hard to imagine but the reforms Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Daim Zainuddin have been talking about since Pakatan Harapan defeated Barisan Nasional on May 9 are institutional reforms. 

Simply put, the new government wants to put in place checks and balances against PM. Dr Mahathir and Daim understand Malaysia was on the cusp of destruction because so much power was vested in the hands of one man – Najib Razak.

So in the weeks and months to come, Malaysians can expect the system of appointing judges and heads of government agencies to be tweaked to ensure that one person does not have an inordinate influence in the appointment of top officials.

There is also a likelihood that the top security agencies such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission will be answerable to Parliament‎.

The Mahathir administration will also seek to emphasise the separation of powers between the executive, judiciary and legislature.

The government may also introduce a two-term limit for the PM.

Is Dr Mahathir for real? Or are these just nice sound bites in keeping with the jubilant mood on the ground following the ouster of Barisan Nasional?

Those familiar with Dr Mahathir and Daim understand the cynicism.

After all, during the two decades of Dr Mahathir’s rule, he had little patience for ‎the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary or a free press. He was a man in a hurry and often viewed dissent and processes as impediments to his grand vision of developing Malaysia. 

So, the Mahathir years became synonymous with the all-powerful prime minister. ‎He did what he did regardless of public opinion. His economic enforcer during many of his years as PM was Daim. Both didn’t think much of civil society. Both had little time for human rights activists or the Bar Council, perennial activists.

What about constitutional law experts?

They were under-employed during the Mahathir years. 

And yet, in his second tour of duty, Dr Mahathir has empowered a former Bar Council president, a former Court of Appeal judge, ‎a human rights commissioner, a constitutional law expert and a president of an NGO to help with institutional reforms.

None of them are shrinking violets. And they have already hit the ground running with Ambiga Sreenevasan saying that the Committee for Institutional Reform will present recommendations to Dr Mahathir in 60 days on how to reform the Election Commission.

But beyond individual agencies, the goal of the committee was to ensure that every institution in Malaysia remains independent, no matter who is in power. 

She and her committee members are in a hurry because Dr Mahathir and Daim are in a hurry. 

The PM and the head of the Council of Eminent Persons believe that they need two years to put Malaysia on a good footing. 

Those who have kept in touch with Dr Mahathir and Daim over the years say both can still put in 12 hours of solid work every day and they are voracious readers. But they seem more accepting that their time is drawing to a close.

Dr Mahathir is a fit 93-year-old but ‎still a 93-year-old, and no one ever out-runs the ageing process indefinitely. Daim is 80-years-old but suffers from a kidney ailment. 

They have tasted power before and want for nothing.

They won’t say it publicly but this time it is about righting some of the wrongs they inflicted on Malaysia and paralysing a system of the all-powerful prime minister they once defended so ruthlessly. 

It is about turning those years of regret into something special.

If they are successful, Malaysia’s institutions will return to the way they were before the Mahathir years of 1981-2003. – May 17, 2018.