Siti Kasim warns of ‘Talibanisation’ after widower sets to be publicly caned in Terengganu for repeated ‘khalwat’ offences

Siti Kasim warns of ‘Talibanisation’ after widower sets to be publicly caned in Terengganu for repeated ‘khalwat’ offences

HUMAN rights activist and lawyer Siti Kasim has rung the alarm bell of Terengganu “moving towards the Talibans” after a widower is slated to be the first person to be publicly whipped in Terengganu on Dec 6 for being a repeated khalwat (close proximity) offender.

Malay language tabloid Kosmo has reported that construction worker Affendi Awang, 42, was ordered to be given six strokes of the rotan by Terengganu Syariah High Court judge Kamalruazmi Ismail after pleaded guilty to committing khalwat with a 52-year-old woman at a house in Pengkalan Ranggon, Kemaman, at 1.40am on June 16.

The father of five will undergo his sentence at Masjid Al Muktafi Billah Shah in Kuala Terengganu after Friday prayers.


“They started by whipping the two ladies in Syariah Court with audiences. Now they have moved to a mosque. A place of worship!” lamented Siti Kasim who is also a renowned Orang Asli advocate in a Facebook post.

“Next, they will have a special place for whipping in town. Sounds familiar? Yes. As I have said, we are moving towards the Talibans and the extremists. Good. This is what you want (Terengganu is one of the four PAS-ruled state in Malaysa). You reap what you sow.”

Under Terengganu’s syariah criminal offences enactment which comes into effect this year, repeat khalwat offenders are punishable by up to six strokes of the rotan, a maximum RM5,000 fine or three years in prison.

In meting out the sentence, Kamalruazmi said the main purpose of the punishment (contrary to inflicting bodily harm) was to serve as a lesson and deterrent for the convict and other Muslims.

He added that Affendi should have learned his lesson the two previous times he was convicted of khalwat. In July 2023, he was fined RM2,700 after pleading guilty to khalwat at the Kemaman Syariah Lower Court.

In February this year, he was convicted of the same offence by the Syariah High Court and was sentenced to four strokes of the rotan and a RM3,000 fine.

Recall that in September 2018, two Muslim women convicted of attempting to have lesbian affair in a car were caned at the Syariah High Court in Terengganu.

According to an official, this is the state’s first conviction for same-sex relations and its first public caning.

The Terengganu Syariah Court


Human rights activists reacted with outrage. Homosexual activity is illegal under both secular and religious laws. The caning was witnessed by more than 100 people, according to local news outlet The Star.

More recently in April this year, a single mother was reported to become the first female khalwat offender in the state to be sentenced to whipping by the Terengganu Syariah High Court.

Then, Terengganu Syariah High Court Senior Judge Rosdi Harun meted out the punishment on Nurfifi Amira Nawi, 37, who pleaded guilty to the offence.

She was sentenced to six strokes of the cane and a fine of RM4,000 in default eight months in jail.

The woman was charged under Section 31(b) of the Syariah Criminal Offenses (Takzir) (Terengganu) (Amendment) Enactment 2022 with being with a 40-year-old man in a house in Kemaman at about 3.15pm on Jan 31.

She had been convicted of a similar offence in 2018 and was fined. – Nov 21, 2024