KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has opened 2026 with a renewed pledge to push through long-promised institutional reforms, including a 10-year cap on the premiership, the separation of prosecutorial powers, a Freedom of Information (Fol) law and an Ombudsman Bill.
Political analysts broadly agree that the Madani government, now entering its fourth year in power, faces few parliamentary obstacles in tabling and passing the reforms, citing Anwar’s two-thirds majority and the largely non-controversial nature of most proposals.
Anwar’s announcement followed a warning in December from DAP, which holds 40 seats in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat, that it would re-evaluate its position in the government if meaningful reforms failed to materialise within six months.
The ultimatum came after a bruising outcome for the party in the Sabah state election in November, where it lost all eight seats it contested. Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat secured just one of the 12 seats it contested.
Broad parliamentary support expected
Nusantara Academy of Strategic Research senior fellow Professor Dr Azmi Hassan said all four reform Bills were likely to secure broad, including bipartisan, support in the Dewan Rakyat, noting that rejecting them would be politically costly for the opposition.
He said there was “simply no justification” for opposing legislation aimed at strengthening democratic governance and public accountability, adding that support could exceed the two-thirds threshold, similar to the unanimous passage of last year’s citizenship amendments.
Azmi said while some reforms, such as the Freedom of Information law and term limits, may not be immediately urgent — given that Anwar could still contest another term at the next general election — they were crucial in signalling political commitment to institutional change.
“These Bills are necessary to convince the public that the government and politicians are committed to delivering the best for the people,” he said, adding that transparency reforms should be prioritised.
Political will, not timing, the key test
Professor James Chin of Monash University Malaysia echoed this view, saying most of the reform proposals had been in the works for more than a year, with draft legislation largely prepared.
He said the central issue was not timing but political will, adding that Anwar would not table any Bill unless its passage was assured.
“There is no hurdle that I can think of,” Chin said, noting that even a unified opposition would be unable to block reforms backed by the ruling coalition’s numbers.
Chin added that the proposals enjoyed strong public support and were unlikely to trigger significant resistance, although more contentious measures — such as political financing reforms — could still face delays.
“At the end of the day, we’re talking about a politician and a government. They will not do anything to embarrass themselves,” he said.
Freedom of Information law seen as cornerstone reform
Pacific Research Centre principal adviser Dr Oh Ei Sun said the reform package reflected a rare convergence of interests between government and opposition lawmakers, arguing that measures such as prosecutorial separation and term limits would benefit whichever side occupied power.
He said the Freedom of Information law was the most critical reform, warning that decades of secrecy under the Official Secrets Act had allowed major scandals to be concealed from public scrutiny.
“Frankly speaking, how does this jive with the OSA? I hope it could either replace or weaken the OSA, because over the past four decades or so, many scandals have been swept under the carpet in the name of the OSA,” he said.
Oh added that failure to pass the reforms would carry political consequences, depending on where resistance emerged.
“If they are not passed because of your own government MPs, then you have a lot of explaining to do,” he said, drawing parallels with the bipartisan passage of the anti-party hopping law.
Civil society flags credibility gap
Despite the apparent legislative momentum, civil society groups have warned that the credibility of Anwar’s reform agenda risks being undermined by recent prosecutorial decisions.
In a joint statement on Friday, the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism and the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections said the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ decision to classify Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s Yayasan Akalbudi case as requiring no further action was deeply troubling, particularly given that a prima facie case had already been established in court.
The groups said the decision raised serious questions about the integrity of the criminal justice system and appeared to contradict earlier prosecutorial findings, which had led to Zahid being ordered to enter his defence before the case was discontinued in 2023.
They said the AGC’s claim of “insufficient evidence” following further investigations failed to explain how evidence previously deemed sufficient to sustain prosecution had been nullified.
The groups reiterated that the episode underscored the urgency of separating the roles of Attorney General and Public Prosecutor, warning that the current arrangement left prosecutors vulnerable to political influence.
They also called for clear prosecutorial guidelines, similar to those in the United Kingdom and Australia, to place limits on prosecutorial discretion and restore public confidence in the justice system.
Reform moment meets credibility test
Bersih chairman Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz described Anwar’s announcement as a “positive leap” and called on all parties, including the opposition, to support the reform agenda.
Faisal said term limits were expected to reduce the risk of abuse of power by preventing the prolonged concentration of authority, encouraging a prime minister to implement policies and programmes more efficiently, with Malaysia poised to become “a trailblazer among Westminster nations”.
As Parliament prepares for a new session, analysts say Anwar’s ability to deliver on institutional reforms may hinge not on numbers, but on whether legal and governance decisions taken outside the legislature align with the reformist principles his administration has pledged to uphold.
