CEO of Malaysian company accused of child abuse says there were cases of sodomy

The chief executive of a Malaysian conglomerate accused of running shelters where hundreds of children and young people were sexually abused said there had been “one or two” cases of sodomy at the shelters, but denied other allegations of misconduct.

Police this week rescued 402 children from charities they say are run by Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) Holdings, an Islamic company that authorities say also exploits its workers.

Health checks revealed that many of the children had injuries consistent with physical and sexual abuse, while 13 of them had been sodomized, police said Friday.

GISB has stated that it does not manage the homes and denies all allegations of abuse and exploitation of workers.

But in a video posted on GISB’s official Facebook page on Saturday, Chief Executive Nasiruddin Ali said the company had broken a number of unspecified laws. “I don’t want to blame the laws. It is true that we have made some mistakes in the eyes of the law, but couldn’t there be some advice or consultation first?” he said.

Nasiruddin called police allegations that children were sodomised and taught to sodomise others “disgusting”, but acknowledged that there had been cases of such abuse in the homes.

“There were indeed one or two cases of sodomy, but why lump them all together?” he said.

GISB has been linked to Al-Arqam, a religious sect banned by the government in 1994. The company has acknowledged the link but now describes itself as an Islamic conglomerate based on Islamic principles.

Malaysia’s Islamic Development Department said in a statement on Saturday that it would submit a report on suspected deviant teachings regarding GISB to the Cabinet, the National Council for Religious Affairs and the Conference of Rulers. Malaysia has nine royal rulers who act as guardians of Islam in the country.

Nasiruddin said that a number of GISB accounts had been frozen and their assets seized by authorities, adding that the company was in the process of hiring lawyers to defend itself in court.

Following Wednesday’s raids, police have arrested 159 people pending investigation. The investigation into GISB may be expanded to include financial crimes.

A general view of the headquarters of Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) in Rawang, Malaysia, September 11, 2024. REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain/File photo