Speaking to reporters at the Umno General Assembly 2016, Azalina said PAS president and Marang MP Abdul Hadi Awang would have to complete the first reading of the proposed amendments in parliament as part of parliamentary procedure.

“This means after the first reading is completed, the government will pick it up as a second bill and (Minister in Prime Minister’s Department) Jamil Khir Baharom will read it as a government bill,” she said.

Azalina disclosed the tabling of the bill would be done by March next year.

Hadi’s bill was first tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on May 26. His bill seeks to equip shariah courts with greater punitive powers.

Hadi moved the bill again on Nov 24, but with a slight amendment to his original bill. The amended version caps the shariah court’s punitive power to sentences up to 30 years’ jail, RM100,000 fine, and 100 strokes of the cane.

Currently, shariah punishment is capped at a three-year prison term, RM5,000 fine, and six strokes of the cane.