There is no point in being Prime Minister if I have to compromise on GISBH, says Anwar

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will speak at the Malaysia Madani Scholars Forum tonight at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says he will not compromise on measures against Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH).

Speaking at a forum here, Anwar said authorities are determined to continue exposing the group’s misconduct. GISBH is being investigated for child abuse, sexual abuse, human trafficking and deviant Islamic teachings.

“I am determined and I will not give up,” he said tonight at the Malaysia Madani Scholars Forum.

“If I have to compromise on this point, then there is no point in being prime minister anymore.”

He said anyone who commits a crime will be prosecuted even if he or she claims to respect Islamic principles.

“It doesn’t matter if they are preachers and foam at the mouth when they talk about Islam. We will still take action (if they commit crimes),” he said.

On September 11, police rescued 402 children and teenagers from 20 homes allegedly linked to GISBH in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, suspected of being victims of abuse and sexual exploitation.

Dozens of children have also been rescued from GISBH-affiliated welfare homes in Melaka and Pahang.

According to police, initial investigations have revealed that at least 13 children have been victims of sodomy or taught to sexually abuse others.

On Tuesday, police inspector Razarudin Husain said 572 children and teenagers had been rescued from GISBH-linked homes after they were suspected of being exploited by the group.

So far, more than 300 people, including senior management of GISBH, have been arrested.

During raids last week in Melaka and Kelantan on sites linked to GISBH, hundreds of items related to the teachings of Al-Arqam, a sect declared deviant by the National Fatwa Council in 1994, were discovered.

GISBH previously indicated that it had shed its former image as a business arm of Al-Arqam and was now positioning itself as a multinational company.

On another issue, Anwar said the cabinet fully supports his decision to cancel a government agency’s plan to send 68 civil servants to an exhibition in Berlin.

He noted that in his two years as prime minister, no minister or political leader of the unity government had questioned his decisions on governance.

Anwar stressed that strict action must be taken in this matter to prevent such practices from continuing.

“If an agency has 20 officials who want to go (on a foreign trip) and only eight people show up at the meetings, then you have to stop it,” he said.