PENANG plans to table a bill at the state legislative assembly sitting in August to “slightly amend” the state constitution to limit the appointment of an assemblyman as chief minister to only two times.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the amendment would be reworded from Pakatan Harapan’s election manifesto pledge on the matter.

Penang PH’s promise was to limit the chief minister’s term to a maximum of two terms.

But following advice from the state legal adviser this morning at the exco meeting, Chow said the amendment would be worded as “no member of the legislative assembly may be appointed as chief minister more than twice”.

The new subclause will be inserted as 7(2A) under the state constitution’s provision for executive council.

“A term may run for three years, five or up to seven years. The pledge to limit the tenure to two terms was to prevent a chief minister from running the government for more than 10 years.

“We can’t control how long a term lasts. It might bring good or bad implications… so instead of using the words ‘two term’, we are using ‘twice’, meaning the CM cannot be appointed more than two times,” Chow said at Komtar today.

Chow said how the amendment was worded would still be open to different interpretations.

The two-time appointment as chief minister might not be over two straight terms, if the particularly assemblyman failed to defend his seat or was unable to perform his duties and functions midway in the term, he said.

“This is why we are announcing this amendment now to start a public discourse on the matter. 

“We hope that it can be a national discourse, not just a discussion in Penang. The two-term limit proposal also applies to PH at the national level,” Chow said.

PH had pledged in its election manifesto to limit the tenures of the prime minister and menteris besar to two terms.

“We don’t know how we can make the necessary amendment at the Dewan Rakyat without a two-thirds majority.

“But some PH state governments are also studying this proposal, even though they did not make the election pledge,” he said.

Asked if the amendment would be retrospective, Chow said it depended on the public discourse.

He said people can email the state government their views on the matter while civil society members were encouraged to issue statements via the media. – June 6, 2018.