Kuala Lampur, June 12 -- Absenteeism among our lawmakers has been a cause for concern among many Malaysians over the years as it is generally regarded as a dereliction of duty.

It was absenteeism that was largely attributed to the Dewan Rakyat's failure on March 2 to pass a Constitutional amendment to limit the prime minister's tenure to 10 years.

The important Bill aimed to prevent the concentration of power around one person and facilitate new leadership.

It received 146 votes, that is, two votes shy of the 148 required for a minimum two-thirds majority needed to pass any Constitutional amendment.

A total of 32 Members of Parliament (MPs) were absent while another 44 abstained. Mind you, eight government MPs were not present during ...