PARLIAMENT | The opposition bench could have had 52 votes on record during a bloc vote called last Monday, had they not fumbled with the paperwork, revealed Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

He said only 51 votes were accepted because the voting paper by Julian Tan (DAP-Stampin) was not signed by G Manivannan (PKR-Kapar), who acted as the bloc leader and called for the vote. 

This was explained by Pandikar, in rejecting an opposition motion to have the bloc voting results reviewed.

"Manivannan failed to sign the voting paper of Julian Tan. Meanwhile, the counting officer did not include the lawmaker's name and he had signed it," he said.

On this note, Manivannan (photo) admitted his mistake and apologised to his Pakatan Harapan allies at Dewan Rakyat.

Last Monday, BN passed the bloc vote on the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry portion of Budget 2018 with a one-vote majority - 52 to 51.

The bulk of those who voted against were from Pakatan Harapan, while six others were from PAS.

Had Tan's vote be counted, there would have been a tie, in which case the speaker would have to vote.

Pandikar also ruled that the bloc voting mooted by the opposition was frivolous, as some of the lawmakers had gone for prayers on that night, and all MPs were fatigued due to the prolonged sitting the previous day.

"When I consider all this, there is nothing you can describe it as, apart from the bloc voting asked on that day, frivolous," he said, further questioning whether the voting was done to embarrass the ruling coalition.  

Pandikar also found nothing wrong with the House allowing latecomers to vote.

The speaker said he had to adhere to the convention in Parliament to never lock the doors on the latecomers.

"I now rule that the bloc voting which took place on Nov 20, was done accordingly to Section 46 and 47 of the Standing Orders," he said.

In a statement issued later, Manivannan said he would take responsibility and announced his resignation as the secretary whip.

"The omission of Stampin MP was not purposely done. It was absolutely a human error. I met YB Stampin personally to convey my apology and he has accepted.

"The officers (in Parliament) are supposed to assist. Though they calculated together with me, they didn’t highlight any omission and further failed to double check. The speaker agreed that the counting system is flawed.

"As a matter of principle, I have resigned as the secretary whip with immediate effect and already conveyed my resignation to the chief whip, Johari Abdul," he said.