COMMENT | A single mother from Terengganu was recently charged in the state’s Syariah High Court for close proximity after she was caught being with a man who was not her husband or “mahram” (a family member with whom marriage would be unlawful) inside a house, in the middle of an afternoon.

The woman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six strokes of cane and a fine of RM4,000, in default eight months in jail. She had been convicted of a similar offence in 2018.

On the surface, it is very easy for most Muslims to frown upon those accused of close proximity, especially when....