The Dewan Rakyat unanimously passed the Employment Insurance System (EIS) Bill 2017 in a marathon sitting that went past midnight.

The House, which began sitting at 10am, stopped its clock to allow the session to continue past midnight. The bill was debated from 7pm.

BN MPs, together with opposition lawmakers from PKR, DAP, PAS and PSM who participated in the debate, supported the bill. Bersatu and Warisan did not debate the bill.

The EIS will create a fund, pooled from employers and employees, which will provide compensation for up to six months for workers who are retrenched.

Prior to the vote, opposition lawmakers made several attempts to introduce what they claimed were improvements to the bill.

During the third reading, which is the committee stage, Charles Santiago (DAP-Klang) mooted an amendment to the bill where the government will also contribute to the EIS.

His motion, however, was rejected by the House.

Human Resources Minister Richard Riot said the government does not need to contribute to the scheme as it had already allocated RM120 million in the interim fund.

"Since the government spent a huge sum of money in the scheme, among others, there is no need for it to pay," he said.

Santiago had also debated that the compensation of up to six months was not enough and should be increased to a year. He claimed six months was not enough to retrain a retrenched worker.

He added the scheme should also cover the spouse of someone who is retrenched.

The House also passed an amendment brought by the government, deleting the four schedules of contribution rates to only one.

The remaining contribution rates will range from 10 sen for workers earning RM30 monthly to RM39.50 for employees earning RM4,000 and above a month.

While the other three deleted schedules of contribution rates require a higher monthly contribution of up to RM59.30.

Following the amendment, the minister can review the contribution rates after taking into consideration the sustainability of the fund. Prior to this, the minister is entitled to review the contribution rates every three years or more.

Hatta Ramli (Amanah-Kuala Krai) however expressed concern that the government's amendment could expose the employee and employer to the “whim and fancy” of the minister and they would be clueless as to what the next rate would be.

"Well, this is like the guessing game of petrol price every Wednesday," he said.