THE Dewan Rakyat descended into heated exchanges today after several Members of Parliament clashed over the use of crime statistics during debate on child sexual offences, with accusations of misinformation and political exploitation flying across the chamber.
The commotion began when RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) defended his earlier remarks, insisting that he had relied on published reports indicating an increase in sexual crime cases in Kelantan.
“As I said yesterday, these are allegations made against me. During my debate yesterday, I referred to reports published by NST and Free Malaysia Today which show that sexual offence cases in Kelantan have been increasing. This is something that cannot be distorted,” he said.
The exchange took place while Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran was winding up the debate on the Sexual Offences Against Children (Amendment) Bill 2026.
Rayer pressed the government on measures to address what he described as rising sexual offences against children, prompting repeated calls from Kulasegaran for the matter not to be politicised, while maintaining that the data cited in the House was based on available reports.
However, Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin (PN-Putrajaya) intervened, pointing out that the New Straits Times report referenced by Rayer was dated March 16, 2023, and presenting a more recent report dated May 15, 2024, which stated that Selangor recorded the highest number of sexual crime cases over the past three years.
“Why? Because of its population size. So do not politicise this issue. As for child sexual crimes, we should set aside which state it occurs in and focus on solving it,” he said.
Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PN-Pasir Mas) also rejected the claims, citing Department of Statistics Malaysia data to argue that Kelantan had not ranked highest in any category of child sexual offences.
He accused Rayer of misrepresenting statistics and using the issue for political gain ahead of the Johor state election, describing it as “low-level politics”.
The session briefly turned disorderly as MPs continued to interject, with one opposition lawmaker launching a personal jibe before the Deputy Speaker restored order and urged the House to proceed with proceedings.
Deputy Minister M. Kulasegaran later urged calm, stressing that the government remained focused on addressing the issue substantively rather than allowing it to become a political flashpoint. - June 30, 2026
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