KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz has suggested that the Federal Constitution should be amended to ensure a period of five years between general elections, thereby creating a fixed term for Parliament.
In an interview with Astro Awani, Malaysia’s ambassador to the United States said this would put a stop to any attempts to topple the government as had happened in the past.
He also said that he had raised the matter during a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday.
“To guarantee a five-year term for any administration, I suggest that the Federal Constitution should be amended to state that once a general election is over, Parliament sits for five years, whereby five years means five years.
“It can’t be that before the five years are up, in the third year, it falls. If this is allowed, it means that in the public’s perception, a government can be brought down in less than five years,” he was quoted as saying to Astro Awani.
The former law minister added that if his suggestion were adopted, it would help to establish in the public’s mind that a government which is formed after a general election will really last five years.
“I believe that if we manage to amend the Federal Constitution, it will give the perception and optics to the people that when a government is formed it really is for five years,” he said.
Nazri added that the issue of the government’s stability was frequently raised by US investors and politicians that he met.
His comments echo similar sentiments shared in an interview with Astro Awani published on May 4, in which he said that any attempt to topple the government of the day will make it difficult for ambassadors to court foreign investors because the latter will have the impression that the country is unstable.
Nazri said that it is the duty of ambassadors to help the government to convince investors and bring more investment to Malaysia.
He had also said that a country’s stability is a key concern for foreign investors.
