THREE records with nothing to show for. These three records were broken in the first meeting of the fifth Dewan Rakyat session in the 13th Parliament over the past 48 hours.

At 5am, the Dewan Rakyat broke the record for the longest meeting in a single day when it went on for 20 hours. The previous record of 19 hours was set in 2015.

Less than seven hours later, another record was notched when a private member’s bill saw the light of day in the Dewan Rakyat.

And just an hour before the end of today’s session at 4pm, Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia set a new precedent for adjourning a motion before the debate had even begun.

The long-waited debate on PAS Marang MP Abdul Hadi Awang’s controversial motion to increase the shariah court (RUU355) penalties was left hanging right after his party colleague Takiyuddin Hassan ended his speech to support his president’s motion.

And instead of an educational debate on the merits of allowing the shariah courts to mete out 30-year jail terms, RM100,000 fines and 100 lashes of the cane, Malaysia is left hanging because of the premature end.

Nevertheless, Hadi and Barisan Nasional must have heaved a sigh of relief when the final bell was rung.

Hadi, who for the past week had to endure BN’s last-minute rejection of RUU355 as a government bill, can now stand tall again as he heads to Alor Star for the 64^th PAS annual general meeting.

And while Hadi is expected to retain his president’s post uncontested again, doubts were raised about his leadership or arrangements on RUU355. He can at least go to the annual meeting having tabled the motion.

And for BN, it can also smile with this outcome. The coalition has kept its promises to its coalition partners and PAS at the same time. The motion appeared in the Dewan. Nobody debated it. And hence nobody had to vote on it.

For the rest of us, the issue is unsettled and it will continue to tear Malaysians apart.

The debate may have been suspended in Dewan Rakyat today. But for Malaysians, the debate will rage on. Until the next general election, at the least.– April 6, 2017.