KUALA TERENGGANU: State government officials have rubbished suggestions that the storm that hit the state hours after two women were caned for attempting to have same-sex relations was a sign of God’s wrath.

Speaking to the press after the weekly state exco meeting, exco chairman of tourism, culture and information technology, Ariffin Deraman said the storm was merely a test from God and had nothing to do with the punishment.

“It is only when vice is committed that we suffer God’s wrath, not when we follow his word. Such a notion does not make sense,” he said.

His colleague, exco chairman of welfare, women and family development, and national unity, Hanafiah Mat echoed his points, saying the storm was caused by the transition in the monsoon winds.

“This transition has caused storms in several parts of the state affecting areas from Kemaman to Setiu.

“This has been happening since Aug 3, even before there was any mention of the caning the women,” he said, adding that about 2,600 houses across the state were damaged by the storms.

Hanafiah also said the state government will inject about RM2.5mil into the Darul Iman Fund to help storm victims rebuild their houses.

On Monday (Sept 3) evening, a storm lasting about five minutes hit Kuala Terengganu and its surrounding areas at around 4.30pm, badly damaging hundreds of houses in Wakaf Mempelam and Buluh Gading.

This was about six hours after the women were caned at around 10am at the Syariah High Court.

Netizens went on social media to criticise the sentence and also suggested that the natural phenomenon was some form of divine retribution.

Meanwhile, State Civil Defence Force Director Che Adam Abd Rahman said the Meteorological Department had issued warnings about heavy rains before the storm.

“We did not expect strong winds and a storm but we have also categorised that storm as short-term and localised,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department said the storm was caused by the convergence of winds from the southeast and southwest in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

In a statement, the department explained the country is now experiencing the tail-end of the southwestern monsoon, which is expected to end by mid-month.

It also said that Monday’s storm was not linked to Typhoon Jebi, which hit Japan and killed at least 11 people.