COMMENT | On Friday, Dec 26, Malaysia endured a grave stain on its syariah justice system.

Mohd Affendi Awang, a 42-year-old carpenter and father of five, was subjected to the barbaric and degrading punishment of public caning for the offence of khalwat under Terengganu’s amended Syariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) Enactment 2022.

This ludicrous spectacle, carried out before 90 spectators at the Al-Muktafi Billah Shah Mosque, flagrantly violates the principles of compassion, justice, and human dignity that Islam so profoundly upholds.