DAP and PAS leaders have come to the defence of its 26 MPs who did not vote on the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) in the wee hours of Tuesday.

The Pota, which has a detention without trial provision strongly-opposed by Pakatan Rakyat, was passed 70 votes to 69 at 2.25am, prompting critics to slam the absent Pakatan MPs.

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu said the public must be more fair to absent MPs because they are among the MPs who are very active in debates.

Selangor speaker and DAP assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh added that elected representatives are not machines and sittings past midnight do no one any good.

Mohamad (left) , better known since Mat Sabu, said instead of scrutinising attendance list, the critics should look at the MPs’ participation in debates throughout the session.

"That is more fair. For example, (Pokok Sena MP) Mahfuz (Omar), (Tumpat MP) Kamaruddin Jaafar and (Kota Raja MP) Siti Mariah Mahmud participate actively in debates.

"I think (the absenteeism) is not an issue. What happens if I were an MP and I was by chance overseas on the day of the vote?” he asked.

He said reporters should review the records of the last two years since the general election to see who is "kaki tuang" (likes to play hooky) and do not participate in debates.

"This is what should be exposed," he told reporters at a press conference today.

For Yeoh (left) , the question which should be asked is why the voting for Pota was dragged to 2.55am.

"Elected representatives are not machines. Can anyone be productive in a sitting in Parliament from 10am to 2am, and made to debate important bills affecting the entire nation?

"(It is) ridiculous for laws to be made in a hurry, but when it’s time to implement policies, the files can sometimes sit in agencies for months and months," the Subang Jaya elected rep said.

Other Pakatan MPs who were absent during the final vote was PKR's Sungai Petani MP and party whip Johari Abdul, DAP's Bagan MP and secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

Johari said he was ill while Lim was overseas.

Pakatan MPs held accountable

Meanwhile activist Wong Chin Huat slammed the absent MPs at the passing of the Pota bill as it showed a lack of discipline and accountability during critical sessions.

"The issue is really about accountability. Where were you at that moment? Give us the reason for absence," said Wong in a series of Facebook postings on the issue.

Wong (left) particularly pointed to PKR and PAS parliamentarians for not being able to account for their absence .

According to Wong, the PAS whip had said, “I don’t know which PAS MP was not present."

PKR, he said, couldn't give a clear answer on their absent MPs.

"They refuse to be accounted for. That is the first problem behind absenteeism. That is why we should be angry about," said Wong.

Presence 'does matter'

He said the absent representatives should not give the excuse that their absence was inconsequential to the eventual vote.

"Attendance and voting in the Parliament are consequential. Parliamentarians need to be accountable of their attendance and voting," he stressed, adding parties need to enforce discipline on their MPs.

Wong said he saluted those who did fight hard against the bill, namely his constituency Lembah Pantai's MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, DAP party whip Anthony Loke Siew Fook "who ensured a 35/37 participation rate at the first round of Pota voting", and PSM's sole parliamentarian Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj (left) .

"You stood up for our freedom against tyranny. Salute," said Wong.

However he reminded those who were upset with Pakatan MPs to remember that it was BN who had tabled the bills.

"If you do vote for BN in the next election, you will undermine our freedom more than the 22 Pakatan parliamentarians who were absent."

Additional reporting by Abdul Rahim Sabri