This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 20, 2026 - July 26, 2026

AS Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim once again brushed aside speculation of an early general election during the latest Parliament sitting, developments on the political front increasingly suggest that the challenges facing his unity government are becoming harder to ignore.

From Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) disappointing performance in the Johor state election to the Democratic Action Party’s (DAP) withdrawal from the Melaka state government and now the postponement of two key institutional reform bills, recent developments have fuelled concerns that cracks within the multi-party administration are becoming increasingly visible.

The two delayed bills — one seeking to impose a 10-year limit on the tenure of a prime minister and another to separate the offices of the Attorney General (AG) and Public Prosecutor (PP) — are among PH’s most significant institutional reform pledges ahead of the 15th general election.

Both had been repeatedly promised by the government and were expected to be tabled during the parliamentary sitting that concluded this week.

Their postponement has prompted questions over whether Putrajaya is holding back politically sensitive reforms to avoid exposing divisions within the coalition at a time when recent electoral setbacks have already raised concerns over its cohesion.

The timing is particularly delicate for DAP, which is scheduled to hold its annual congress next month.

Delegates are expected to scrutinise the unity government’s reform record as they decide whether the party should continue participating in the administration if key reform promises remain unfulfilled.

The political challenge is compounded by the fact that both bills require constitutional amendments, meaning the government needs the support of at least two-thirds of MPs in the Dewan Rakyat.

The constitutional amendment bill to separate the offices of the AG and PP was tabled for its first reading in February.

The proposal would create a new constitutional office of PP, transferring prosecutorial powers away from the AG, who would remain the government’s principal legal adviser.

However, the bill immediately faced resistance, including from government backbenchers, who argued that it lacked sufficient parliamentary oversight over the appointment process of the PP.

Facing mounting concerns, the government postponed the debate in March and referred the bill to a Parliamentary Special Select Committee for further scrutiny.

After nearly four months of negotiations and revisions, the government appeared to have reached a compromise.

Under the revised proposal, the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) would recommend candidates for the post of PP. The candidates would then be vetted and approved by a parliamentary select committee before being submitted by the JLSC to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for appointment.

The changes appeared to address concerns raised by several government backbenchers who had previously opposed the original version of the bill, although opposition parties have yet to formally state their positions.

Despite the compromise, however, the bill did not return to Parliament before the sitting concluded.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the proposed amendments must first be presented to the Conference of Rulers before the legislative process can proceed.

As a result, the bill’s second reading has been deferred to the next Dewan Rakyat sitting beginning on Oct 5.

The government’s proposed constitutional amendment to limit the tenure of the prime minister to two terms, or a maximum of 10 years, has also been taken off the parliamentary agenda.

The bill narrowly failed during voting in March after the government secured only 146 votes, falling short of the 148 required to amend the Federal Constitution. Eight government MPs were absent during the vote.

Following the defeat, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil assured the public that the bill would be retabled during the June-July parliamentary sitting.

That did not happen.

Several government MPs told The Edge that they had not received any briefing on the status of the bill or the reasons behind its postponement.

“We have not been briefed on what happened to the bill,” one government lawmaker said, declining to be named.

Political observers say the government may have decided against bringing the bill back without greater certainty that it could secure the required support.

A second defeat would not only derail one of Anwar’s key reform pledges but could also raise questions over whether the prime minister commands sufficient support within his own coalition.

Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung, however, argued that delaying the bill sends a similarly damaging message.

By choosing not to table it, he said, the government risks signalling that it lacks confidence in securing the necessary two-thirds majority.

“That, too, exposes the government’s weakness,” he said.

The latest developments have again placed the spotlight on the government’s parliamentary strength following months of political shifts.

On paper, the unity government still commands a comfortable majority.

PH controls 77 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, followed by Barisan Nasional (BN) with 30, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) with 23 and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) with eight. Several smaller parties collectively hold another five seats.

The government also receives support from two independent MPs and six former Bersatu lawmakers who have pledged their backing for Anwar’s administration.

Despite the vacancies created by former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and former PKR vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the unity government still controls 151 seats in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat.

That is, in theory, above the 148 votes required for constitutional amendments.

In practice, however, the failed vote on the prime minister’s term-limit bill demonstrated that parliamentary numbers alone do not guarantee that the bill would be carried.

With the government holding only a narrow buffer above the constitutional threshold, the absence or abstention of just four government MPs would be enough to derail an amendment.

For a coalition comprising multiple parties with different political interests, maintaining unity and ensuring attendance during crucial votes remain major challenges.

With the two institutional reform bills now deferred until at least the next Dewan Rakyat sitting in October, political attention is shifting to another key event that could have implications for the unity government — DAP’s annual congress.

Originally scheduled for July 12, the congress was postponed to Aug 16 to accommodate the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections.

One of the most closely watched items will be an internal referendum asking delegates whether DAP leaders should resign from government positions if delegates conclude that the unity government has failed to deliver meaningful institutional reforms.

The referendum was proposed after DAP’s heavy defeat in the Sabah state election last November, which prompted the party leadership to pledge a renewed push for reforms amid criticism that the party had lost its reformist voice after entering federal government.

At the time, secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook said DAP would reassess its role in the unity government if Anwar failed to deliver meaningful reforms within six months, while stressing that the party had no intention of bringing down the administration.

Since then, however, political pressures have intensified.

Poor outcomes, from the party’s disappointing performance in Sabah to its setback in Johor, along with the continued delay of key reform bills, have led to frustration building among some sections of the party.

“We are increasingly being seen as having lost credibility because we have yet to deliver the political reforms we promised voters,” one DAP grassroots delegate told The Edge.

He warned that the perception could eventually translate into electoral losses if not addressed.

However, he said many of the party’s roughly 4,000 delegates remain undecided on how they will vote at the congress.

“Many are still taking a wait-and-see approach,” he said, adding that the outcome of the Negeri Sembilan state election could influence the mood within the party.

The Negeri Sembilan election could therefore prove politically significant beyond the state itself.

A strong PH performance could ease pressure on DAP’s leadership and provide the unity government with greater political space to revive its reform agenda.

Another disappointing result, however, could deepen questions over the coalition’s public support and make it more challenging for Putrajaya to secure consensus for constitutional reforms when Parliament reconvenes in October.

For now, Anwar continues to dismiss speculation of an early general election.

But with reform promises facing delays, coalition partners reassessing their positions and parliamentary arithmetic proving more fragile than it appears on paper, questions over the long-term trajectory of the unity government are unlikely to disappear.

Read also:
The forces behind BN’s best Johor win since 2008
‘Blue wave’ faces its real test in Negeri Sembilan
Johor state seat composition over the years