Abstaining From Vote Not The Same As Rejection Pn Mp Tells Govt

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PARLIAMENT | A Perikatan Nasional MP today defended the opposition bloc’s abstention from voting on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2025 to enable the government to reinstate and re-enforce the Parliamentary Services Act in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Khairil Nizam Khirudin (Jerantut-PN), when debating the Parliamentary Services Bill 2025 today, said abstaining from voting is a right all MPs have, and it does not equal a rejection.
“When we enter this chamber, there is a government side and an opposition side. There are things that we can support, reject, and abstain from.
“This is not something that is in the Quran that is halal or haram, there is no difference (real, clear, or obvious). So what is wrong with yesterday’s action and why say we reject it?” he asked in the Dewan Rakyat today.
‘Read between the lines’
Commenting further, Khairil also questioned the logic behind saying that the opposition had rejected the bill.
“A member of Parliament said earlier that you should read between the lines (to understand what is implied). Shouldn’t you be the one to read between the lines? Why the opposition?
“Where is the logic in saying we refused when we are pressured morning, evening, day and night by the ruling government and the oppression inflicted on us is stated and confirmed in the debates by members of Parliament from the government,” the PAS politician claimed.
The Dewan Rakyat passed the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2025 yesterday to enable the government to reinstate and re-enforce the Parliamentary Services Act.
The bill was passed with the support of a two-thirds majority of MPs through a split vote, with 148 in favour.
However, 57 MPs did not vote, and 17 were absent when the split vote was taken.
Before that, the bill was debated by 18 government and opposition MPs.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also described the actions of 57 opposition MPs who did not support the amendments in the Dewan Rakyat as betraying efforts to reform Parliament. - Mkini

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