Tan Seng Giaw, the sole DAP lawmaker absent at the 2016 Budget voting on Monday night, said he missed the voting as he was distracted by the live coverage of the Paris attacks on TV.

Tan said he was watching the live television programme and misjudged the time for voting.

"I was late, I came after I received a phone call," he said.

However, PAS' Hulu Langat MP Che Rosli Che Mat told him the voting was over after he arrived at Parliament, he said.

Tan said he had no intention to miss the voting, which was actually very important to him.

Even so, he said, he was distracted by the report on the terrorist attacks because it was on US-Russia cooperation to combat IS, which claimed responsibility for the attacks.

"I was outside. I watched live television. I watched Obama speak on the Paris incident at Antalya, Turkey. There was an important announcement.

"That was important. That will impact us, to see what methods will be used," Tan said.

"That was more important than this (the budget vote), because we will have the Asean Summit soon.

"Russia has been stacking up its attack on IS, it may work with US," he said.

Misjudged the time for voting

He said he misjudged the time for voting because there were still seven ministers queueing to deliver their winding up speeches for the second reading debates.

"So, I thought the budget voting would take place after 10pm," Tan told Malaysiakini.

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Thirty-five out of 37 DAP MPs voted against the budget.

DAP was one more MP short as Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang had been suspened for contempt against Parliament and the Dewan Rakyat speaker.

Policy-stage voting for Budget 2016 took place at 9pm on Monday, with 128 voting in favour and 74 against .

Seven PAS MPs abstained from voting in keeping with their party whip's instruction, while four PAS MPs were absent.

Three PAS MPs defied the instruction to vote against the budget.

All Parti Amanah Rakyat, PSM and PKR MPs were present and voted against the budget, in a bid to send a signal of no confidence to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The committee stage debate for Budget 2016, which is the final stage before it is passed and adopted, is going on.

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