THE opposition slammed statements by several parties blaming the bloc following the Dewan Rakyat’s failure to pass the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 to limit the maximum term of the Prime Minister to 10 years.
Its leader, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, said the party that should be blamed is the government MPs who rejected the bill, not shifting the blame to the opposition.
“If you look at the speeches of the opposition MPs, they all said we agree, but with conditions.
"If the conditions are not taken into account, then it means that we are not rejecting but abstaining.
"So don't make such statements.
"I am surprised that there are members of the Cabinet who issued a statement that the opposition did not vote," he said during a press conference in Parliament.
The Dewan Rakyat on Monday failed to pass the bill after failing to obtain the support of two-thirds of the MPs.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul said that only 146 members of Parliament supported it, while 44 did not vote, and 32 MPs were absent.
Hamzah said that the government should make thorough preparations, including meetings with members of Parliament who support it, when a bill is to be passed, to avoid a repeat of the incident.
"The problem is that government MPs did not vote. That is to be blamed because the government has a responsibility to defend its proposals.
"They can’t blame the opposition for what happened," he said. – March 3, 2026
