KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 – Anthony Loke has urged civil society and voters to hold absent lawmakers accountable after the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2026 to limit the prime minister’s tenure failed by just two votes in the Dewan Rakyat.
The Bill secured 146 votes, narrowly missing the 148-vote two-thirds majority required. Expressing “deep sadness,” the DAP secretary-general stressed that all 40 DAP Members of Parliament were present and supported the reform measure.
Earlier, Speaker Johari Abdul confirmed that 32 MPs were absent while 44 abstained. Loke criticised the empty seats, including those from the Opposition bloc, calling on voters to question representatives who did not back the amendment.
He reaffirmed DAP’s commitment to the government’s institutional reform agenda, describing the outcome as a setback to efforts aimed at strengthening democratic governance.
