The group also demanded immediate access for the media and members of the group to meet parents and children at the welfare centres and to inspect conditions there.

The action group, called Gerakan Pulangkan Anak-Anak Kami (movement for the return of our children or GPAAK), also demanded an immediate public inquiry and parliamentary investigation into the police action which led to the arrest of people linked to the company.

The group’s spokesman, Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, said 96 people, parents of 174 detained children, seek the return of the children to their respective families after being held apart for almost a month.

He said the group had found that 80.2% of the 96 parents were not GISBH members, while about 49% of them had no links to the company.

He disputed claims by the police and social welfare department that the children had been rescued; instead, he alleged they had been illegally detained, in contravention of the law, human rights and an international convention on children’s rights.

Tun Faisal hit out at Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain, Selangor religious affairs director Shahzihan Ahmad, and Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin for allegedly issuing misleading and defamatory statements.

He said the group was dismayed by news reports which he described as just as misleading and defamatory, based on questionable sources and which claimed that the children were physically and sexually abused and forced to sodomise their friends.

Tun Faisal said the action group was angry that the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), the Bar Council and the Muslim Lawyers Association failed to prevent the government from violating the rights of the parents and children.

They failed to defend the parents and children from any tyranny, abuse of power and persecution, said Tun Faisal, who is Bersatu’s information chief in the federal territories.

Group’s demands

The group made 12 demands on the government. The other demands are:

1. Immediately return the children to their parents;
2. Take disciplinary action against the police and welfare officers for their actions and their intelligence failure;
3. Take disciplinary action against the police and welfare officers for taking advantage of the parents’ lack of understanding of the law;
4. Carry out a judicial review of an order to extend the detention of the children;
5. Provide access for the media and GPAAK to the parents and children who are currently housed at the social welfare department’s detention centre.
6. Order a parliamentary select committee to investigate the inspector-general of police and the director-general of welfare services for violating the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
7. Investigate the background and credibility of Pukas, a group that researches deviant teachings and an alleged former GISBH member;
8. For the federal and state governments to stop issuing “baseless, defamatory and nonsensical” statements related to GISBH;
9. The resignation of the inspector-general of police, Selangor Islamic religious department director and the Perlis mufti;
10. The resignation of the home minister and the women, family and community development minister.

On Sept 11, police rescued 402 children from 20 welfare homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan which the authorities had linked to GISBH. They also arrested 171 people, including an ustaz and a hostel warden.

According to the police, investigations showed that at least 13 of the children were sodomised or taught to sexually assault others.