KUALA LUMPUR: Do not blame the opposition Members of Parliament for the failure to pass the proposed constitutional amendments in the Dewan Rakyat, says Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
The Opposition Leader said the Bill, which seeks to limit the prime minister’s term to 10 years, failed to secure a two-thirds majority because government MPs did not turn up to vote.
He said the government currently commands the support of 154 MPs, which would have been sufficient to easily pass the Bill, as only 148 votes were needed to obtain a two-thirds majority.
“The opposition bloc never rejected the proposed amendment but took a stand to abstain from voting on Monday (March 2).”
“Why are you blaming the opposition? If you review the opposition MPs’ debate speeches, you will find that they all expressed conditional support for the Bill,” he said at a press conference here Tuesday (March 3).
The Bill, which went to a bloc vote, failed to obtain the required two-thirds majority, receiving only 146 votes. A total of 44 MPs abstained, while 31 were absent.
Hamzah urged the government to make early preparations, including notifying all MPs in advance to ensure full attendance during the voting process.
“You have the majority — 154 MPs support the government. If you want to ensure the Bill is passed, then make sure that two-thirds of them are present to vote. Call them one by one if necessary.
“If an MP is stuck in traffic, we can send a note to the minister to request an extension of the winding-up speech, since some are still on the way. I want to advise the government to learn from this so that such issues do not arise again.
“We want the people to understand that the opposition is the only group willing to support the proposal if it is good,” he said.
