PARLIAMENT | The government was almost defeated in the Budget 2018 debate at the Dewan Rakyat tonight, when the opposition sprung a surprise bloc vote.

The BN won by a razor-thin margin of one vote.

The government was wrapping up the committee stage debate for the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry's portion of Budget 2018 when G Manivannan (PKR-Kapar) called for the vote to protest the rising cost of petrol and goods.

At the time, the House was almost empty, with most BN MPs not on the floor.

Deputy speaker Ronald Kiandee then instructed for the House bell to be rung for two minutes, and the government lawmakers rushed in.

After several intense minutes, BN won by a single vote, with the final tally at 52 in favour and 51 opposed. Two MPs abstained from the vote.

The one-vote majority for BN came with the help of deputy speaker Ismail Mohamad Said, who took the floor to cast a vote in his capacity as Kuala Krau MP.

When contacted, Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) said the two MPs who abstained were his colleagues Idris Ahmad (PAS-Bukit Gantang) and Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS-Rantau Panjang).

"PAS lawmakers from Dungun, Pengkalan Chepa, Bachok, Kubang Kerian, Pasir Puteh, and I, voted against the budget," Mahfuz said.

"(But) we (the opposition) lost by one vote. People may think that the two MPs who abstained from voting have caused our defeat," he added.

During the vote, a ruckus broke out when opposition lawmakers noted that several BN lawmakers, who entered the House late, still managed to take part in the vote.

"Tenom (MP Raimi Unggai) only entered now, how can (he vote)?" shouted an opposition lawmaker.

"Be a gentleman, don't cheat," exclaimed Manivannan.

"Hey, are you going to run away with the ballot box?" shouted Fuziah Salleh (PKR-Kuantan).

"What is this?" asked a puzzled Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong).

Ronald tried to restore order, telling the opposition to "relax" and that the voting process was still ongoing.

The opposition responded by shouting "tipu" (cheat) and "bohong" (lie).

Moments later, Ronald announced the narrow victory, much to the opposition's chagrin.

Noraini Ahmad (BN-Parit Sulong), however, countered by saying: "Go home, if you don't agree (with the voting process)."

'Why was this allowed to happen?'

Citing Section 47(2) of the Standing Orders which dealt with voting in the House, Gobind said the votes of latecomers should be excluded from bloc voting.

"What happened was an abuse of the House's process. During the vote, BN was short of three to four MPs, so can we have the voting list reviewed?" asked Gobind.

"Why was this allowed to happen? The whole world is watching, we can't have justice in this House and you cannot control the proceeding here," he lamented.

Ronald, however, defended the outcome of the bloc vote.

"Section 47(1) and (2) of the Standing Orders does not state any time frame after the two-minute bell and the time frame that bars latecomers from voting," the deputy speaker said.

At a press conference later, Gobind said this was a dark day in the history of Parliament.

Manivannan said the lawmakers' votes, after being signed by bloc leaders, should not have been returned to the BN side to take in more votes.

Beside Raimi, he said, three other BN MPs - Azalina Othman Said (Pengerang), Ismail Sabri Yaakob (Bera) and Koh Nai Kwong (Alor Gajah) - entered the House after the votes were signed by their respective bloc leaders.

The opposition lawmakers ended their press conference by chanting "tipu".