GISB: unmasking the shadowy sect behind Malaysia’s worst child sex abuse scandal

Celebration Mall had stood empty for years until new owners with grand ambitions swept in 24 years ago.

Soon, the derelict shopping centre – nestled in the Bandar Country Homes neighbourhood of Rawang, Malaysia – was reborn into a bustling business hub replete with restaurants, shops, a bakery and even a maternity clinic.

The transformation breathed new life into an area that had been losing its lustre in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. A sense of community returned. Families did too. Some sent their children for horse riding lessons at the mall’s new stables.

At the heart of this remarkable turnaround was Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB), a conglomerate with business interests spanning everything from farms to fast food.

But beneath the bright facade lurked a dark reality: GISB was not what it seemed, and now finds itself at the centre of Malaysia’s worst-ever child sex abuse scandal.

Children pictured at a GISB event. More than 500 children have been rescued from care homes in Malaysia linked to the group. Photo: Facebook/GISB

Many of the fresh faces that had appeared around Celebration Mall, it turns out, were former members of the banned Islamic sect Al-Arqam – dismantled by the authorities in 1994 for promoting a “deviant form” of Islam in this predominantly orthodox Sunni nation.

After first rebranding as Rufaqa, then facing legal troubles in 2006, authorities say the sect later resurfaced as GISB, bringing its faith, finances and a troubling sense of impunity to the Bandar Country Homes area, just 30 minutes north of Kuala Lumpur.

In the aftermath of police raids last weekend that led to arrests, property seizures – and even the confiscation of the horses – the mall has since “gone dark” and its shops have closed, local resident Fatimah Omar told This Week in Asia.

Days earlier, GISB CEO Nasiruddin Mohd Ali was detained at a residence in Kuala Lumpur’s upscale Bukit Bintang district as authorities launched a sweeping crackdown on the organisation.

So far, more than 500 children have been rescued from care homes linked to GISB, a self-proclaimed Islamic organisation boasting an estimated 10,000 members.

Three GISB members are escorted by police after facing charges at a court in Seremban, Malaysia, on September 19. Photo: EPA-EFE

Authorities believe many of these children endured horrific sexual and physical abuse, with reports of them being coerced into performing sex acts on their peers in the presence of their carers, in what police characterised as a grim pattern of systematic exploitation.

As the investigations continue, three people have been charged with sexual abuse, with one 23-year-old member sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison for his crimes.

Police said on Wednesday that members nearing the end of their remand period will be rearrested, under a legal provision usually reserved for gangsters and terrorism suspects. Other charges being considered include witness intimidation, human trafficking and tax evasion.

In interviews with This Week in Asia, ex-GISB members and police revealed an extreme culture of control and abuse that persisted, largely unchecked, for years.

Some men from the group are known to have fathered dozens of children with multiple wives. These children grew up in the very care homes that are now embroiled in the abuse allegations, their names unknown to their fathers, according to Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain.

When questioned on Monday about the police’s delayed response to GISB’s activities, Razarudin batted away criticism.

“This is not about being late,” he told reporters. “At least we are taking action now.”

Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain speaks in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Photo: AP

On Tuesday, as the scandal continued to snowball, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to defending “true” Islam following a meeting with the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), the body overseeing the propagation of Islam in the country.

“May Allah protect us and this nation from any danger or threat that deviates from and could undermine the true tenets of our faith and Islamic principles,” he said in a Facebook post after the meeting.

One explanation for GISB’s enduring presence at Celebration Mall is the role that the revamped property played as a community hub – despite it being widely known as “Arqam place”, in a nod to the banned Islamic sect.

“My husband took our grandkids there to ride on the ponies,” Bandar Country Homes resident Fatimah told This Week in Asia.

The 1997 financial crisis marked a turning point for the area, transforming it from an emerging middle-class town into a haven for migrant workers and lower-income city workers – alongside members of Al-Arqam, who relocated there after being ousted from their commune in Sungai Penchala in 1994.

Fatimah, who is 64 and not affiliated with the group, said the Al-Arqam members largely kept to themselves, forming a “community within a community” that avoided imposing their beliefs on others.

“In fact I sent my two children to a neighbour, who is from the group, to learn how to read the Koran,” she said. “I accepted that they had repented.”

However, her perspective began to change after an unsettling incident in 2000. Her sons, who are now in their 30s, returned from their Koran recitation class one night, sharing a bizarre revelation: the teacher’s 6-year-old son had told them that “Abuya lives on the moon”.

Ashaari Mohammad, founder of the banned Al-Arqam sect, pictured in 1996. Photo: Reuters

“Abuya” – Arabic for father – refers to the late Ashaari Mohammad, who founded the Al-Arqam movement in the late 1960s.

Among the sect’s beliefs is the notion that Ashaari could communicate directly with the Prophet Muhammad, and that a Singapore-based Islamic mystic who died in 1925 was the messiah.

Even after Ashaari’s death in 2010, his followers, including those in GISB, kept faith in the idea that he would one day return to Earth.

“It showed that there are still strange beliefs being propagated in the community,” Fatimah said.

The logo of Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) on the side of an office building in Rawang. Photo: AFP

The name “GISB” first appeared in 2010, following the sect’s rebrand from Rufaqa to Ikhwan two years earlier.

Presenting itself as an Islamic company guided by core Islamic principles, GISB expanded its reach into various sectors – from restaurants and supermarkets to healthcare and manufacturing.

This growth transformed it into a global conglomerate with 25 subsidiaries and assets valued at an estimated 325 million ringgit (US$78 million).

Its international footprint extends from Saudi Arabia to major cities like London, Paris, Istanbul and Dubai, with significant investments in halal industries, including food supply operations on farms in southern Thailand.

GISB even launched an online streaming service called Ikhwan TV featuring Islamic-themed short films, including some with a comedic touch.

GISB CEO Nasiruddin Mohd Ali. He admitted on September 14 that “one or two cases of sodomy” had occurred. Photo: Facebook/GISB

Unlike the charismatic Ashaari, whose sermons resonated widely during the peak of the Al-Arqam movement in the late 1980s, GISB CEO Nasiruddin Mohd Ali has largely stayed out of the public eye. He has four wives and 26 children, one of his daughters revealed in a local media interview.

On Facebook, GISB has shared ambitious plans for a future development surrounding its Rawang headquarters, including images of a scale model complete with office towers, a large mosque, green spaces and a retail park.

This business acumen has cultivated a loyal following among the Malaysian public, with some supporters viewing the allegations against GISB as an attack on a successful Muslim-owned enterprise.

Malaysia’s leading Islamist party, PAS, has backed calls for a thorough criminal investigation into the allegations – while maintaining that the organisation’s legitimate business activities should not be conflated with the abuse scandal.

“The positive sides of this group, including its extensive business network, should be preserved and protected from rash and unfair actions that may be caused by reckless sentiments, prejudice, business competition or certain political agendas of those who want to take an advantage,” PAS Secretary General Takiyuddin Hassan said on Sunday.

On Thursday, police chief Razarudin told reporters that investigations had revealed GISB has never paid any Malaysian taxes on its business interests.

On Facebook, GISB has shared its ambitious plans for a future development surrounding its Rawang headquarters. Photo: Facebook/GISB

The rescued children – ages 1 to 17 – are now in the care of Malaysia’s Social Welfare Department, housed in 11 shelters across the country.

After initially denying the allegations, Nasiruddin admitted on September 14 that “one or two cases of sodomy” had occurred at his organisation’s care homes, claiming the numbers had been exaggerated by the police and media.

“We teach the children to pray and emphasise congregational prayer,” he said, emphasising that GISB had been in business “for 30 years, with nearly 20 branches worldwide, and have faced no issues”.

In response to the scandal, GISB officials have taken to TikTok to post videos showcasing mundane business activities, such as walking around their farm in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, repairing boats, and mixing fruit juice for sale at food stalls.

A man linked to GISB covers his face as he is escorted by police officers after being charged in court in Putrajaya on September 18. Photo: Reuters

The backlash has prompted some businesses to distance themselves from the GISB brand, however. The Ikhwan Hotel in Kota Baharu, Kelantan, for example, changed its signage overnight to Musfa Hotel to obscure its connection.

Using legitimate business ventures to support dubious or nonconformist ideologies is not a new phenomenon, said Dina Zaman from Iman Research, a Kuala Lumpur-based think tank.

“Many right-wing Islamist movements adopt a business front as a means of legitimacy, but also as an additional revenue stream to fund their operations,” the sociopolitical researcher told This Week in Asia.

While Malaysia’s constitution enshrines Islam as the state religion it is the Shafie sect of Sunni Islam that the government has canonised as the guiding school of thought. Other branches of Islam are tolerated in the multi-ethnic society, but are often marginalised and seen as less mainstream.

The Shafie school tends to have a “stricter interpretation of Islam”, Dina said. “It’s not unthinkable that some Malaysian Muslims would want to seek alternative schools of Islam that can match their world views and aspirations better.”

However, Dina cautioned against labelling GISB a “deviant Islamic group”, noting that this term is often state-designated and may reflect a “political agenda” set by the government.

What distinguishes GISB from similar groups is both its scale and its intent to create an alternative political reality for its members, shaped by faith and supported by what it refers to as an “Islamic economy”.

This rejection of Malaysia’s neo-liberal economic approach, which conservatives view as lacking in Islamic values, increases the appeal of a separate, sharia-compliant economic community.

“I do believe they genuinely believed they were developing a Muslim economy, while also unfortunately justifying exploitation (in the process),” Dina said.

Of the 20 care homes that were initially raided, 18 were in Selangor state. Sultan of Selangor Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who is the head of Islam in the state, has called for swift action against GISB.

The children rescued from care homes linked to GISB ranged from ages 1 to 17. Photo: Facebook/GISB

Former GISB members who spoke to This Week in Asia described a strictly hierarchical organisation, operating like a business infused with faith, where rank-and-file members relinquished control of their personal relationships to group leaders.

Raja Suhaimi Raja Chulan, who married the granddaughter of Al-Arqam founder Ashaari, revealed that members working for the company did not receive salaries. Instead, they are provided with food and accommodation at GISB properties.

“It is akin to slavery,” he said. “The top people live in luxury with super luxurious houses and cars while subordinates, even if they want to be husband and wife, they have to wait for their turn and (have it) be arranged.”

GISB employs a corporate structure to project legitimacy, Raja Suhaimi said, all the while believing their leaders are appointed by – and in communication with – Prophet Muhammad and Imam Mahdi, the Islamic Messiah.

“All the ranks of the leadership are placed like a normal company structure,” Raja Suhaimi said. “There is a board of directors, state director, and all the usual terms and ranks like any other business.”

The group openly practises polygamy, which is permitted under Malaysia’s sharia codes – on condition that the husband can demonstrate his ability to provide for all wives equally and obtains formal approval from existing spouses before marrying another, up to a maximum of four.

Malaysia’s constitution allows for the establishment of sharia courts with jurisdiction over matters related to Islamic family law and religious observance.

However, GISB, which claimed that 435 out of 1,656 families in its community were polygamous, has faced accusations of using such marriages as a means of both reward and control.

A Malaysian man pictured with his multiple wives in Putrajaya. Polygamy is permitted under Malaysia’s sharia codes. Photo: AFP

This practice resulted in some of the rescued children being born without proper documentation, leading to citizenship issues. Even two weeks after the raid, none had been claimed by their parents.

Raja Suhaimi, who left the group in 2011, told This Week in Asia from Medina, Saudi Arabia, that GISB leaders not only arranged marriages within the community but also dictated when husbands and wives could be intimate.

“Marriages and divorces are all at the discretion of the leader,” he said. “Once, a congregation of members was instructed to divorce their partners right then and there in a ceremony.”

This, he added, was supposedly to train them to become mujaddin, an Islamic term for individuals who are believed to revive the true teachings of Islam.

Sabrina Bolivar, the daughter of a former Al-Arqam leader, shares the story of her mother’s experience with the group. Photo: TikTok/sabbybolivar

In Paris, Sabrina Bolivar, the daughter of a former Al-Arqam leader, urged the public to withdraw their support for GISB.

Sabrina, of mixed Malay-French heritage, shared that her mother – a former medical student at the National University of Malaysia – was coerced into joining Al-Arqam at the age of 22 and married a group member in a union that lasted only six months.

She was then arranged to marry Sabrina’s father, an Al-Arqam member who already had three wives, without her prior knowledge.

“Her first marriage was traumatic, wedded to a problematic man. Her second marriage brought fresh trauma, being the fourth wife, bullied by the other wives,” Sabrina revealed in a TikTok post on September 20 that has since gone viral.

After decades of failed crackdowns, police say they aim for their current investigations to systematically dismantle the sect and its teachings.

“We don’t want to do things halfway and then they go and form something else,” police chief Razarudin told reporters, listing off the group’s past incarnations.

“We do not want the teachings … to be repeated again. If they are, people will blame the police.”

But the authorities already took too long to act, critics argue – with the consequences of their delay being borne by the vulnerable young victims.

“This is almost like Richard Huckle all over again, except it’s home-grown,” said child rights advocate Sharmila Sekaran, referencing the British paedophile who is believed to have sexually abused dozens of children in Malaysia from 2006 to 2014. He died in prison in 2019, killed by a fellow inmate.

Sharmila, whose group Voice of the Children helped rehabilitate Huckle’s victims, expressed frustration that the main focus of the GISB case seemed to be the religious and political implications – and not the hundreds of children who were rescued and the urgent care and support that they need.

Child psychologists warn that it could take years for a child to learn to cope with such trauma, which may lead to a range of mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and difficulties forming meaningful relationships in adulthood.

“It creates a false belief system in a child because it normalises things that are not supposed to happen in a child’s life,” said Anna Tan, a licensed psychologist and founder of SNS Child and Family Development Centre in Petaling Jaya.

“For children, they won’t stop loving an adult who treats them badly. But they will stop loving themselves.”