KUALA LUMPUR (April 6): Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia has postponed the debate on the Private Member's Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, to the dismay of various members of Parliament.

While the bill was tabled in Parliament today, Pandikar ended today's session at around 4pm, right after Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Bharu) ended his supporting argument on the amendments.

"I would like to share some words of wisdom shared by a certain Sabahan politician, whom I will not mention the name. These words are engraved in my mind, even until now. He said: 'If you are in power, you are powerful. If you don't use your power, you are a bloody fool'.

"In relation to these words of wisdom, today I feel very powerful because I'm not bound by Standing Order 15. Usually, when a certain motion is read and supported, the Speaker will present the issue to be debated and decided.

"Today I don't want to be a bloody fool. I want to exercise my power. Therefore, I have decided that further debates on this issue will be postponed to the next Parliamentary session," he said in parliament today.

The decision by Pandikar was not taken well by opposition MPs who wanted to debate the bill. Pandikar's decision sparked a series of jeering and name-calling as those who disagreed with his move expressed their disapproval.

The bill, tabled by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, is seeking to amend and increase the syariah court's sentencing limits under syariah laws.

The amendment was first on the order paper today, after four other bills of proposed amendments on the order paper yesterday were deferred to the next parliamentary session.

Abdul Hadi had proposed amendments to Section 2 of the Act to increase the current "imprisonment of more than three years or fine of more than RM5,000, or more than six lashes" to "jail term of more than 30 years or fine of more than RM100,000 or 100 lashes as administered in line with the syariah crimes".

The Dewan Rakyat had yesterday went through a 'marathon' session for almost 20 hours and ended at around 5am this morning, setting the record as the longest Parliament session.

The session, which was supposed to adjourn at 11.30pm last night, was extended until the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill 2017 and Tourism Tax Bill 2017 were passed.