Saarani was quoted by Harian Metro as saying that the children, aged 12 and below, have been placed under the care of the social welfare department.

“There’s no denying that there are welfare homes in Perak run by GISBH.

“I have asked the Perak Islamic religious department director, Harith Fadzilah Abdul Halim, to collect information and data, and prepare a report (on its investigations into GISBH),” he said after an event in Kampung Beng, Lenggong, today.

He said he would seek an audience with Perak’s Sultan Nazrin Shah, who chairs the national council of Islamic religious affairs (MKI), once the report from the department is ready.

He also said any decision for Perak to declare the teachings and beliefs of GISBH as deviant, as has been done in states like Perlis, will follow the rulings of the National Fatwa Council.

Earlier, it was reported that several states, including Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan and Penang, would await MKI’s decision on whether GISBH’s doctrines are deviant.

On Monday, police rescued four siblings in Tapah, Perak, who were seen in viral videos being allegedly abused while under the care of welfare homes purportedly managed by the company.

One of the children was the one seen in a viral video being caned by a GISBH member, according to Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain.