Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (pic) has dismissed suggestions by his critics that he is a racist when he compared statistics of statutory rape between Malays and non-Malays.
"How can I be a racist when my wife is Chinese and I have many relatives who are non-Muslims/Malays," he said, when asked to clarify his remarks.
He said the Malays tend to lodge reports due to their religious and cultural sensitivities on statutory rape, even if was a consensual act.
"They have no other solution, but to lodge police reports, even when they realise that consensual sex with a minor was a statutory sexual offence," he told reporters after opening the Asia Pacific non-governmental organisation conference on Human Trafficking in Kuala Lumpur today.
Wan Junaidi sparked a furore when he said, in reply to a question, that child rape was more common among Malays because non-Malays are less sensitive and under-report such cases.
He said the majority of Muslim parents were unable to accept the idea of sex before marriage .
"There are more reports involving Malays compared with other races because Muslims can't accept a child out of wedlock, pre-marital sex, and because these acts are wrong by Islamic law (zina)," Wan Junaidi said in Parliament during question time.
Wan Junaidi said statistics showed 80%, or 1,147 of the 1,424 of statutory rape cases reported last year, involved Malays.
Statutory rape covers girls aged below 16, regardless of whether it involved consensual sex and whether the accused was an adult or minor.
In comparison, he said, Chinese accounted for 4.3% (62 victims), Indians accounted for 2% (32), while other races accounted for about 13% (183).
He said this was consistent with the numbers for 2012, where out of the 1,243 underage rape victims, Malays accounted for 80%, Chinese 5%, Indians 3%, while other races accounted for 12%.
Wan Junaidi said statutory rape cases were mostly caused by access to pornographic material available easily on the Internet.
He said other reasons for underage rape included young people being influenced by friends as well as an urge to try having sex.
Wan Junaidi's remarks hit a raw nerve among netizens and civil society, who rebuked him for being insensitive.
Wan Junaidi said he had discussed with his officers the wide disparity in the number of child rape police reports before delivering the reply in Parliament but they did not give him a satisfactory answer.
"I want this to be studied and this includes getting professors to do research," he added.
Elaborating on his speech at the conference, he said his ministry was reevaluating the Human Trafficking Act 2007 to meet international standards.
He said this in response to the United States report on Human Trafficking which placed Malaysia on the Tier Two Watch list for the fourth consecutive year (2010-2013) and the possibility of being downgraded this year.
The 2013 report said that Malaysia did not fully comply with the minimum standards of elimination of human trafficking in terms of prosecution, protection accorded to victims and prevention.
Wan Junaidi said Malaysia had taken steps to provide shelter homes and also employment opportunities to victims until they were sent back home.
"They are not confined in shelter homes but are also given skills training," he added.
Wan Junaidi, however, said any amendment to the law must be done after careful study or there would be an influx of foreign nationals and this would be a strain on the country.
"We never had malaria and tuberculosis but these diseases have returned due to the high number of foreign workers," he said.
He said the government would intensify its effort to work with NGOs to create awareness among the public on the effects of human trafficking and also to provide support to victims. – March 19, 2014.
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SHOWS HIS UPBRINGING
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