GEORGE TOWN – It is currently still unknown when the 200 children rescued from homes operated by Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB) in Penang will be handed over to their parents due to pending cases, but all of them are doing well, the Penang state assembly was told today.
State Social Development, Welfare and Non-Islamic Religious Affairs executive councillor Lim Siew Khim said that a recent visit with Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad to Kompleks Penyayang Sinar Kasih in Nibong Tebal found the children to be in a “safe, healthy, and happy condition”.
“With regards to the latest updates, I am yet to receive any information on whether they have been returned to the families.
“(The handover) depends on the court since there is an active court case and police investigation,” said Lim.
The executive councillor was responding to a supplementary question posed by Connie Tan (Seri Delima-PH) on the latest development on the case in the state since the issue seems to have “cooled down”.
Earlier, Tan asked the state government what “protection measures” would be taken to ensure the safety of children placed at government and privately-operated childcare centres following the GISB fiasco, which involved allegations of abuses of exploitation committed against children.
In response, Lim said that local authorities will do regular inspections of welfare homes and childcare centres and inspections as well as their management
“The local authorities would also identify whether the centres’ operators comply with existing laws and regulations.
“Legal actions will be taken if operators are not compliant towards operational guidelines that are put in place by the state,” stressed Lim.
She also mentioned that officers from the Social Welfare Department have been conducting mandatory inspections of registered childcare centres in the state twice per year. – November 26, 2024