G25 questions delay in rescuing children, shutting down welfare homes

 

One of the charity homes, said to be linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings, raided by police. (PDRM pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

The G25 group of prominent retired civil servants has questioned the delay in rescuing children, some of whom were allegedly sexually abused, from welfare homes which authorities had linked to a company.

In a statement, G25 cited a news report quoting the Islamic development department’s (Jakim) director-general Hakimah Yusoff as saying that action had been taken against Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH) in February 2019.

Hakimah had said Jakim had held closed-door meetings with GISBH, involving the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs’s (MKI) Muzakarah committee, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and a panel of Jakim experts.

And in July 2022, a special meeting was held with national security agencies, including the police, Hakimah was reported as saying.

“So, we must ask, if the police were already involved earlier, why was the closing of the GISBH welfare homes and removal of the children not done sooner?

We are shocked that it has been over five years since issues surrounding GISBH have been known to the authorities without any move to shut them down while investigating.

G25 said the delay in taking action raises serious questions about the systemic failures in the country’s enforcement agencies that allowed for such abuses to persist.

The delay in taking action also highlighted the delay in the execution and administration of justice, especially with regards to the administration of religion.

G25 went on to reiterate its call for the government to look into the administration of Islam at a deeper level.

Delays in execution and action just because of religious sensitivities left room for neglect at the expense of the innocent, it said.

The impact of these incidents on the affected children is profound and long-lasting,

 it said, adding that the trauma experienced can severely affect the victims emotionally and psychologically, potentially hindering their ability to lead fulfilling lives.

On Sept 11, police rescued 402 children from 18 welfare homes in Selangor and two in Negeri Sembilan, which the authorities had linked to GISBH.

Police said their investigations showed that at least 13 of the children were sodomised or taught to sexually assault others.

Since then, 155 people have been arrested, with 102 men and 84 women also rescued from premises linked to GISBH.

GISBH had denied it operated the welfare homes and rejected claims children under its care were sodomised or forced to sexually assault others. However, its CEO Nasiruddin Ali has since admitted that 

one or two

 cases of sodomy had occurred within the organisation in the past.

On Saturday, the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, expressed disappointment that religious authorities did not act earlier against the unregistered welfare homes run by GISBH. - FMT