KUALA LUMPUR – It appears Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs had been informed much earlier to be present in the Dewan Rakyat to face the possibility of a bloc vote, hours before the unprecedented rejection of a key government bill yesterday, according to a veteran Umno lawmaker.
Parliament rejected a government motion to renew a provision under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, which would have granted a fresh five-year tenure for authorities to detain suspects for 28 days without trial.
The motion was defeated via bloc vote, with 86 voting against and 84 for renewing the tenure of the provision.
Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz said the BN secretariat, which his party leads, had sent out a WhatsApp message to all the coalition’s representatives asking them to attend the afternoon session in anticipation of a bloc vote.
Nazri said opposition lawmakers were incensed after Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said, when tabling the motion earlier in the day, that those who were against it do not love the country.
“The opposition was very angry. We knew what was coming,” Nazri told The Vibes when contacted today.
However, leaders from Umno’s erstwhile partner Bersatu said they were caught off guard by the opposition’s challenge, especially since they signed a confidence and supply agreement (CSA) with the government.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Eddin Syazlee Shith said the opposition should have abided by the CSA and not challenge the government’s motions in parliament.
“Although they are saying there is no specific provision in the MoU touching on motions like yesterday, if they are going to act like this, there is no point in having this CSA,” Eddin said.
In a statement today, DAP national legal bureau chairman Ramkarpal Singh said according to the deal with the government, the opposition is required to back a government bill in Parliament only if it was negotiated and agreed upon by the opposition beforehand.
However, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the defeat of the motion brought into stark focus the need for Umno and BN to strike out on its own and reclaim their past political glory.
“To me… it is clear that the current government is no longer respected. The MoU between the government and opposition is now no more than a promise made on paper,” Zahid said in a Facebook post. – The Vibes, March 24, 2022
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