PARLIAMENT | The Dewan Rakyat has approved for the Federal Constitution to be amended to allow the Malay Rulers, royal family members, and heads of states to be excluded from voting.

This came after a total of 181 MPs voted this evening in support of the motion that was tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (above) earlier today.

No MP voted against the proposal while 39 were recorded as absent, said Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun in announcing the decision.

The third and final reading saw slight differences with 178 MPs supporting and 42 absent.

The proposal was that the Federal Constitution be amended to include a clause under Article 119, which gives the Yang di-Pertuan Agong the authority to issue an order to exclude any sultan, state governors, their wives, heirs, and members of their family from the country's electoral roll.

However, according to the minister, the amendment does not take away the right of any royalty from voting but instead gives them a choice to not get involved in politics and stay neutral.

"I would like to stress here that we are not taking away the power of anyone, including the Malay Rulers, any member of the royal families or the state governors, because they can still choose.

"If they choose not to be included in the gazette order, then they will still have the right to vote.

"This is only a facility given to them, so they will have a choice whether to vote or not and if they want to get registered as a neutral party or otherwise.

"That will be up to them," Wan Junaidi said in his closing speech after a lengthy debate session by MPs.

According to the Santubong MP, before an order is made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, engagement sessions would be conducted with related parties, including with the respective states and the Council of Malay Rulers.

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