BLOC abstentions are an oddity in parliamentary democracy.

And it is in this strange manner that Pakatan Harapan failed to amend Article 1(2) of the federal constitution because 59 Barisan Nasional, PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and STAR (which only has one MP) chose to abstain instead of voting no.

“GPS cannot afford to reject it because it will make clear that they are for the 1976 version which their seniors – led  by the chief minister Rahman Ya’kub – wholeheartedly supported. 

“An abstention gives them room for ambiguity to frame it as a reservation – the “yes, but” way of saying no,” said Dr Wong Chin Huat, who is a Senior Fellow of the Jeffrey Sachs Centre of Sustainable Development, Sunway University.

But GPS is in for a difficult time trying to explain to Sarawak why it chose to help stop the amendment that would restore Sabah and Sarawak’s constitutional statuses, said Wong.

“However, what GPS successfully showed is how important it is to Pakatan, even on an issue they should have supported.

“Pakatan will continue to be held ransom by the opposition unless they can find a way to rally the public behind them before going to Parliament,” said Wong.

All is not lost for the soon-to-be one-year-old government, said Universiti Utara Malaysia’s Dr Kamarul Zaman Yusoff.

“Despite yesterday’s setback, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has shown to his critics that he is committed as anyone else in Pakatan to the reform agenda.”

The government has proved that it dares table a constitutional amendment although it does not have two-thirds majority in Dewan Rakyat, said the political science lecturer.

With the aid of friendly parties such as Warisan and Upko, Pakatan commands the support of only 139 MPs. 

When the bill for the amendment was tabled yesterday, only 134 MPs were present with five absentees.

Minister Dr Maszlee Malik (Simpang Renggam), Deputy Minister Shamsul Iskandar (Hang Tuah Jaya) and Shaharuddin Ismail (Kangar) were on overseas assignments while Muslimin Yahaya (Sg Besar) is recovering from surgery. Wong Tien Fatt (Sandakan) died last month.

At the vote count, 138 voted for the amendment, 59 abstained with no rejections. The additional four votes for the amendment are believed to be from independent MPs in Sabah and Sarawak.

Kamarul said that yesterday’s incident has also shown Dr Mahathir’s critics that Bersatu was right to accept defections from Umno.

“Pakatan has promised many reforms – such as separating the attorney-general’s office from the public prosecutor, making key institutions answerable to Parliament, limiting the term of the prime minister. But all these key reforms need constitutional amendments.

“If his critics want these reforms, they may have to accept that Pakatan needs more defections,” said Kamarul.

Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii said it was a missed opportunity for the Borneo representatives.

“The federal government had shown its sincerity by taking all the steps and even took the risk to table it in Parliament even though we didn’t have the numbers. However, it is disappointing that egos and political affiliation cannot be put aside even though it involves the interest of our nation,” said Yii. 

Kamarul said GPS’ reasons for not supporting the amendment were weak.

“They wanted perfection but you cannot put everything in one bill,” said Kamarul.

Yii said the Article 1(2) was never meant to address all the issues and problems faced by Sabah and Sarawak.

“No single amendment can solve it all as over the years, multiple amendments were made, multiple laws were being passed that were unfair to Sarawak, and all these are being discussed in the special cabinet committee which includes the chief ministers of both states,” said the first-term lawmaker. – April 10, 2019.