PAKATAN Harapan’s move to limit the chief minister’s post to two terms will begin from the next general election, said Lim Guan Eng.

The Penang chief minister said the term limit would be enforced from then on, but not retrospectively.

He said even if PH failed to take Putrajaya in the 14^th general election, the opposition coalition would still enforce the policy in the states where it won.

“We will apply the limit if we can win by two-thirds majority because setting the limit will require us to amend the state constitution.

“But if we don’t win two-thirds, we will consider how we can still push for it. But let’s wait and see (the outcome of the elections).

“We will do it as this term limit is a policy decision in our manifesto,” he said in Komtar today.

PH will also limit the prime minister’s term to two and after several rounds of discussion, the policy was extended to the chief minister and menteri besar posts.

“You know we are now going against the worldwide trend. In China, they are removing the limit for president and the US president welcomes it,” said Lim, who is also PH deputy president.

China’s Communist Party recently announced that it was scrapping the two-term limit for presidency, a move that could allow its current President Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely. 

Lim said the policy could not be enforced retrospectively because that would mean PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad would not be able to be appointed prime minister.

Dr Mahathir, who was prime minister for 22 years from 1981 to 2003 when he led Barisan Nasional, is the opposition’s candidate for prime minister.

Lim, who is DAP secretary-general, has been chief minister for two terms since the then Pakatan Rakyat took over Penang in the 2008 and 2013 general elections. – March 7, 2018.