In a statement, the Bar’s president Ezri Abdul Wahab said the fact that these homes operated without proper oversight raised “alarming questions”.

“The Malaysian Bar calls upon all regulatory bodies, not just the police and the social welfare department, to enforce stricter compliance measures and ensure that all such centres are diligently monitored and regulated.”

Ezri said it was crucial that the nation adopted a holistic approach to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.

Such measures included not only immediate action against the perpetrators, but also the undertaking of a long-term reform of the systems employed to oversee these centres, he said.

Ezri also urged Putrajaya to consider establishing a royal commission of inquiry (RCI), as proposed by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), to thoroughly investigate the shortcomings that have allowed such alleged abuses to continue for years.

“The findings of the RCI will hopefully lead to meaningful reforms in child protection policies and institutional oversight mechanisms.”

Ezri also said the Bar was prepared to provide assistance to the victims after law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said instructed the legal aid department to provide services to the children and their families.

Last week, police raided 20 welfare homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, which had been linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH), and rescued 402 children who are believed to be victims of physical and sexual abuse, and abandonment.

GISBH has since denied it operated the welfare homes that were raided and rejected claims children under its care were sodomised or forced to sexually assault others.

Its CEO Nasiruddin Ali, however, later admitted that “one or two” cases of sodomy had occurred within the organisation in the past.