KUALA LUMPUR: Three weeks after police launched a raid on welfare homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, rescuing 402 children who allegedly had been exploited and abused, the case continues to send shockwaves through Malaysia and dominate headlines.
Some of the children were reportedly sodomised by their guardians and taught to sexually abuse each other.
On Oct 3, the Royal Malaysia Police announced that it had frozen a total of 206 accounts linked to Malaysian conglomerate GISB Holdings (GISBH), valued at more than RM1.35 million (US$31,9791) to date.
Police chief Razarudin Husain also said that various assets, including cars, watches and various animals had been seized.
The same day Selangor announced that they had declared GISB as an organisation that promoted deviant teachings, the second state after Perlis did so last month.
GISB has come under continued fire for its links to the welfare homes and a number of its senior executives have been arrested.
These include its chief executive Nasiruddin Mohd Ali, whose remand was extended, along with 24 others, on Sep 30.
A 23-year-old teacher and caretaker of a home was last week also sentenced to 10 years' jail for abusing several boys under his care.
But as developments continue, some are questioning the time it took to probe into GISB and whether the company has been riding on its image as a successful multimillion-dollar Muslim enterprise to evade its alleged wrongdoings.
The Sultan of Selangor on Sep 21 expressed his disappointment over what he described as a lack of effective action taken against GISB and appeared to single out religious authorities.
"We must accept the fact that the delay in handling this issue highlighted the weaknesses in monitoring and enforcing laws by religious organisations against charity homes and religious schools linked to GISB," said a statement from the Selangor Royal Office.
"The organisation's network is so vast that this issue has become serious and out of control."
Experts believe concerns about potential religious backlash hindered efforts to address the activities of the group, which is believed to have close links to Al-Arqam.
The Islamic sect was banned by Malaysian religious authorities in 1994 for deviant practices.
CALLS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY GROWDespite the recent actions by the authorities, experts and prominent figures have spoken out about the perceived delayed response, especially considering the longstanding awareness of the issue.
On Sep 23, civil group G25 raised the fact that police had already been involved in an investigation with the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) since 2019.
“We are shocked that it has been over five years since issues surrounding GISB have been known to the authorities without any move to shut them down while investigating,” said G25, which is made up of a group of influential Malays, in a statement.
JAKIM has acknowledged that action began in 2019, with closed-door meetings involving the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and a special gathering of national security agencies in 2022.
But criminologist Geshina Ayu Mat Saat of Universiti Sains Malaysia said that despite the meetings, workshops and other engagements with GISB members that had been conducted multiple times over the years, intervention had failed.
“This clearly evidenced that such intervention efforts had failed and more serious action needed to be taken. It didn’t need to be so prolonged that children continued to be victimised over years whilst the interventions were being made.
“It should have been a swift rescue mission right from the start, taking out vulnerable children from even hints of suspicious conditions into protective custody. Even a delay of hours could be traumatic for victims,” she told CNA.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution said on Sep 30 that a total of 592 children have been rescued so far while 359 GISB associates were detained as part of the ongoing investigation.
On the same day, he added that the intelligence-gathering process had taken some time before action was taken.
Mr Razarudin has denied suggestions that the authorities had taken too long to act against the group.
“We did not leave it like that. And JAKIM also didn’t just leave it. We tried to get as much information as we could (before taking action),” he said on Sep 23.
The police have opened up 80 investigation papers on the group under various legal frameworks including the Child Act 2001, the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, and the Penal Code.
CNA has reached out to JAKIM for comment. play swerte game
Members of Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB) escorted by police officers depart after a court appearance in Seremban, Malaysia, Sep 19, 2024. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian)