Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had to deny he was a racist yesterday when he continued to be under fire for his remarks on national statistics on statutory rape and sexual violations against minors.
On Tuesday, Wan Junaidi stirred up controversy when he remarked that non-Malays in the country are more accepting of statutory rape and sexual violation, leading to reported cases of such crimes by minorities to be much lower than those by Malays.
The deputy home minister clarified that he meant to say Malay-Muslims in particular are against consensual sex between and with minors, leading to a higher number of reported cases from that particular community.
“The possibility is that Malays, by nature of their religion and culture, tend to be very sensitive in terms of consensual sex among people aged 16 and below,” Wan Junaidi told reporters after the Asia Pacific NGO Conference on Human Trafficking here today.
“There’s no solution to them, so they make police reports. But they don’t realise it’ll be statutory rape,” he added.
Wan Junaidi also pointed out that his wife is Chinese, and that his extended family includes members of other ethnic groups, such as Caucasians and Eurasians.
“I’m not racist. I never intended to be racist,” said the Sarawakian lawmaker.
Story: The Malay Mail Online
