Kelantan’s religious authorities recorded 2,135 arrests for offences under Islamic law over three years, from 2023 to 2025, with khalwat (close proximity), particularly among teenagers, accounting for the lion’s share at 1,446 cases.

The figures also included 21 cases involving men posing as women and three involving women posing as men.

The PAS-governed state has one of the more extensive state-level Islamic criminal law frameworks in Malaysia, covering morality, public conduct, and religious obligations offences. The laws, however, apply only to Muslims.

The legal framework has undergone significant changes in recent years. In February 2024, the Federal Court struck down 16 provisions of the state’s 2019 Syariah Criminal Code Enactment, prompting the state government to formulate replacement legislation.