KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - A Malaysian model who was ordered to be caned by a Pahang syariah court for consuming alcohol in public wants the court to expedite the sentence, which has stirred up a controversy.

If her sentence is meted out soon, it could be the first time that a man or a woman is caned under Malaysia's Islamic law.

According to news reports Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor accepts the punishments and wants it to be over as soon as possible.

"I will accept this earthly punishment. Let Allah decide my punishment in the hereafter ... For now, the court has yet to tell me when the sentence will be carried out, so I would like to ask them to hasten it."

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil expressed shock at the ruling while another woman MP from the Islamic party, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), said she was surprised that whipping of women was sanctioned under Malaysian syariah law.

According to news reports, Islamic lawyers disagree.

"We feel the sentence is fair after going through the prosecution's argument and since the rotan (cane) is provided for in the law," Pahang Sharia High Court judge Abdul Rahman Yunus said, according to the paper."

"The rotan is aimed at making the accused repent and serves as a lesson to Muslims," he added, also fining Kartika RM5,000 (S$2,040)"

The 32-year-old part-time model, a Singapore permanent resident, was charged with having a beer in a nightclub last year and was ordered by the Syariah High Court to receive six strokes of the rotan.

Kartika Sari Sewi Shu-karno, pleaded guilty to consuming alcohol in public when she made her first court appearance in December.