June 24 — A Member of Parliament (MP) who is a member of a political party is subject to the political party whip. If the party is in the government, the MP is subject to the government whip.

What is a whip?

In parliamentary terms, a whip is not that piece of leather or rope that is fastened to a stick, used for hitting people.

A whip is a member of a political party in a parliament or in the legislature whose job is to make certain that other party members are present at voting time and also to make certain that they vote in a particular way. 

A party whip is often regarded as the disciplinarian of the political party. The whip is responsible for organising MPs from his party to take part in debates and votes, ensuring that there are sufficient MPs from the party in the chamber to support the party’s position and that MPs vote according to the party’s line.

The word is derived from the 18th century English fox hunting sport, in which a “whipper-in” (a huntsman assistant) was used to keep the hounds together in a single pack, prevent them from straying, and stop them from hunting the wrong animals from straying from the pack.

So, a party whip keeps the MPs from straying from the party’s line.

The whip also ensures good communication within the party or coalition for the smooth running of parliamentary proceedings.

In Malaysia, the role of party whip has been commendably described by former two-term MP and ex-deputy minister Ong Kian Ming in “The parliamentary whip system: What happens behind the scenes when a key Bill is voted on”. 

According to Ong, as the primary floor manager in the chambers, the party whip’s core responsibility is to ensure that enough MPs are present to pass Bills, particularly high-stakes legislation such as Supply Bills (the Budget) and constitutional amendments, which require a two-thirds majority.

We have already seen the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 tabled in March, which sought to cap the prime minister’s tenure at 10 years, failing to secure a two-thirds majority.

Even though Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil had explained that several government MPs had cited “unavoidable” circumstances for their absence, with some saying they were stuck in evening rush-hour traffic, the absence of the MPs has rightly brought into focus the role of the party whip.

Now, on Tuesday (June 23), we read Subang MP Wong Chen saying that he would vote against the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2026 aimed at separating the offices of the Attorney General (AG) and the Public Prosecutor (PP). 

Will the government whip step in to ensure government MPs vote according to the government’s line?

*This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.