Only ex-PAS members involved in GISBH and none active ones, says info chief

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — PAS today sought to distance itself from the party involved in Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH), the scandal-ridden conglomerate under investigation for child exploitation and religion.

PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari clarified that none of the current members of the Islamic party have anything to do with GISBH, which has been declared a deviant sect in several states due to religious teaching materials of the banned Al Arqam sect that were seized during a joint raid in Peninsular Malaysia last month.

“There are no PAS members involved in GISBH. Only a few who left the party are involved,” he told a press conference in Bangi, Selangor, this afternoon, as reported by news portal Malaysiakini.

PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang had on September 14 denied any links between the party and GISBH.

But doubts over PAS’s involvement remained after PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan on September 22 expressed concern that GISBH’s business activities could be unfairly targeted amid investigations into alleged child abuse, sexual abuse and deviant Islamic teachings.

He said PAS supports a transparent investigation into these allegations and calls for strict action against those found guilty.

Malaysiakini also reported that Al-Arqam founder, the late Ashaari Muhammad, had been a PAS candidate for the Bangsar seat in the 1964 elections.

GISBH is a local conglomerate founded in 2010 from the remnants of the now defunct Islamic group Al Arqam, which later rebranded itself into a business entity called Rufaqa Corp with various businesses ranging from trading, manufacturing, food and beverage, poultry, livestock and fishing. education and biotechnology.

Last month, police raided 20 nursing homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan allegedly linked to GISBH members after complaints of deviant religious practices and child exploitation.

Since then, numerous business offices across the country have been raided and hundreds of members and leaders have been arrested. Some have been charged and one convicted, while others remain in police custody pending further investigation.

More than 500 unregistered children have also been rescued from care homes, some of whom have been physically and sexually abused.