Don’t sweep sex crime spike under the carpet, Kelantan govt told

FMT:

Don’t sweep sex crime spike under the carpet, Kelantan govt told


Umno leader Puad Zarkashi says the PAS-led state government seems ’embarrassed’ and unable to accept the reality revealed by two senior cops

Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi said the disclosure of a spike in crimes in Kelantan was akin to a knockout blow to PAS, which governs the east coast state.

PETALING JAYA: An Umno Supreme Council member has urged the PAS-led Kelantan government not to sweep the recent revelations of a spike in sex and narcotic crimes in the state under the carpet.

Puad Zarkashi said the state government seemed unable to accept the reality when deputy inspector-general of police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay and Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat revealed the concerning statistics on such cases, including rape, incest, and underage sex.

Puad also cited PAS’ Melor assemblyman Wan Rohimi Wan Daud’s reprimand of the state police chief for making a series of statements Wan Rohimi said gave a negative image of Kelantan.


“PAS is embarrassed. To them, Kelantan is being governed by an Islamic government, and that there’s no way crime would increase.

“PAS should be using these revelations as a motivation to resolve the matter, rather than sweeping it under the carpet and repeating the ‘Kelantan is governed by Islam’ rhetoric.


“In reality, that’s rubbish. The police’s revelations are akin to a knockout blow to PAS. The Kelantan government cannot hide these things anymore. The data is at the tip of our fingers,” he said in a Facebook post.

Yusoff previously expressed concern over a rise in cases of underage sex and incest, with some cases involving girls as young as 10 years and resulting in pregnancies.

The Kelantan police chief said 252 of such cases were reported in 2024, a 22.3% increase from the 206 recorded in 2023. While investigations found that 98% of the reported cases were consensual, he maintained that sexual activity among minors was illegal.

Yusoff said these developments reflected a “deeply concerning shift in social norms”.


Menteri besar Nassuruddin Daud said the state government has consistently played its part through educational programmes, but its efforts would remain ineffective if parents do not monitor their children.

On the other hand, Ayob had said that Kelantan had the highest rate of drug abuse per capita among all states, with 1,130 cases reported per 100,000 citizens.

Wan Rohimi criticised Ayob and Yusoff over their statements, saying it seemed to be intentionally released over consecutive days to give the perception that Kelantan was not safe to live in.

In defending his remarks, the Melor assemblyman said the duo were civil servants and were just as open to criticism as the prime minister.