KUALA LUMPUR — Religious schools registered with the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) and which were raided by police yesterday over links to Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISB Holdings) will face action, the department said.
Jais said it is continuously monitoring the activities of GISB Holdings for its links to al-Arqam and Rufaqa deviant teachings, while admitting that two of the schools involved in a major police operation yesterday were registered with the state religious authority.
“Following the raid and findings by the police, Jais will take appropriate action against the school registered under the Control of Islamic Religious Schools Enactment 1988,” department director Datuk Mohd Shahzihan Ahmad said in a statement today.
The two religious schools in Selangor police raided yesterday are Sekolah Rendah Islam Integrasi Miftahul Hikmah and Maahad Tahfiz Wal Ulum Al-Ghazaly, he said.
Sekolah Rendah Islam Integrasi Miftahul Hikmah was registered in 2015 and its permit will cease December 31, 2025. The school, which follows a syllabus set by Jais, has 12 teachers and staff, and 104 male and female students.
“Throughout our monitoring of the school on January 13, 2023, March 23, 2023 and July 26, 2024, there were no signs of deviation,” Shahzihan said.
The second school raided was Maahad Tahfiz Wal Ulum Al-Ghazaly which has three staff and 54 male students using the school’s own tahfiz curriculum. It has been operating since 2014 and its registration expires on December 31.
Yesterday, police raided 20 premises in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan linked to GISB Holdings and rescued 402 children aged between one and 17.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin said the premises raided were “welfare homes” where the children were allegedly physically and sexually abused.
He said some children had been sodomised, and were then taught to do the same to other children, while those who were sick were denied medical treatment.
Razarudin added that the children’s bodies were touched with the excuse that they were being given “Islamic treatments”.
The children were also used to reap sympathy when collecting donations.
Jais today said it had discussed with police for items seized from the premises raided in Selangor to be given to the department if the items are material on the beliefs and practices of GISB Holdings.
Jais will investigate the material under the relevant state Islamic enactments, Shahzihan said.
Eight other Jais-registered schools are also under suspicion for links to GISB Holdings, he added.
“Two of them have voluntarily closed their operations, another two have had their registration lapse, while one retracted its registration. The remainder are (registered to continue) operating until 2028.”
GISB Holdings earlier today denied Razarudin’s statement that it operated welfare homes raided by police yesterday.
Yesterday, the company also denied any involvement in child labour.
In the police raid yesterday, a total of 171 people were arrested, including teaching staff, dormitory custodians and study centre managers. — September 12, 2024