Chief minister Chow Kon Yeow has reaffirmed the state government’s stance on the two-term limit for the chief minister post. He stated that a proposed 10-year cap could lead to potential loopholes if a state assembly term is cut short.
Speaking at the state assembly, Chow explained that Penang deliberately chose the two-term rule during the amendment of the state constitution in 2018.
He noted that if a state assembly is dissolved prematurely, a leader might not complete a full five-year term. For instance, if a leader has served only eight years in total, they would not have reached a 10-year threshold and could technically seek another term.
Rationale for the 2018 amendment
Chow was responding to a query from Lee Khai Loon (PH-Machang Bubok), who asked if Penang would consider shifting from the two-term limit to a 10-year cap.
This suggestion aims to align with a proposed federal rule regarding the tenure of the prime minister.
According to Chow, the 2018 amendment was the result of months of deliberation within the state executive council.
The decision to use a two-term limit was based on the standard length of an assembly cycle.
He clarified that each term is defined from the first sitting of the state assembly following an election until the point of its dissolution.
The chief minister added that the decision was informed by recent history, specifically the 2008 to 2013 and 2013 to 2018 assemblies, both of which ran for nearly full terms.
Based on this experience, the state felt that limiting service to two terms was more practical than a fixed 10-year period.
Potential for future alignment
While the state government currently has no plans to amend the constitution, Chow indicated that the matter could be revisited if Parliament passes a bill establishing a 10-year cap at the federal level.
He suggested that if such a federal amendment had been passed in the previous sitting, the state might have considered aligning the state constitution with the 10-year requirement.
However, Gooi Hsiao Leung (PH-Bukit Tengah) raised concerns that the current wording could lead to issues of fairness if a chief minister serves significantly fewer than 10 years due to early dissolutions.
In response, Chow acknowledged that while there is no legal barrier to Penang completing a full five-year term even if Parliament is dissolved early, political factors often play a role.
He admitted that in such circumstances, a term might be shortened to three or four years instead of five.
