Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz said his "absence" from the bloc vote in which the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry's portion of Budget 2018 was passed on Monday, was due to diarrhoea.

"I do not know. I did not hear anything.

"I did not attend (Parliament) on that day as I had diarrhoea, so I don't know anything," the Padang Rengas MP told reporters when met at Dewan Rakyat today.

Earlier today, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told a press conference that BN lawmakers who were absent during the close vote on Monday, have been ticked off.

"I have taken action actually. I have already told and advised them that they should be more serious in attending (parliamentary) sessions," Zahid, who is also the BN whip, said.

He did not, however, provide specifics on the nature of "action" taken.

Zahid added that the matter of more importance was the fact that BN won.

Kapar lawmaker G Manivannan caught backbenchers by surprise by calling for a bloc vote during the committee stage debate on Monday.

Following this, red-faced BN MPs had to scramble to make up the numbers. The final tally saw the backbenchers edging the opposition by just one vote - 52 to 51.

This meant that more than 80 BN lawmakers did not attend the sitting. Two PAS MPs abstained.

The opposition has since urged Parliament to review the results of the bloc vote, claiming they had tied with BN lawmakers, but the suggestion was shot down.

Monday's incident is reminiscent of the Dec 15, 2009, vote, where the House passed the 2010 Budget at the committee stage.

The government only passed the budget for the committee stage with a one-vote majority, by securing 64 votes.