Bukit Bendera MP Syerleena Abdul Rashid said the case was deeply unsettling for many Malaysians, as it exposed the weaknesses of the country’s child protection system and the need for reforms.
She urged the relevant authorities, including the women, family and community development as well as home ministries, to conduct an audit of every single unregistered and private welfare home for children in the country.
Syerleena also called for the Child Act 2001 to be amended to make provisions for penalties for institutional neglect and systemic abuse of children, and for a centralised database to monitor every child under institutional care.
The DAP MP said the authorities should bolster their licensing requirements with real enforcement rather than just mere paperwork.
“Most of all, we must ensure that the rescued children receive long-term care — therapy, education, and safety — not temporary shelter. These are not statistics; they are children whose lives have been forever altered.
“We must never again allow any organisation — religious, private, or otherwise — to exploit children in the name of faith,” she told FMT.
Some 560 children were rescued from welfare homes linked to GISBH last year, with 536 reunited with their families, 11 under the care of guardians, and 13 yet to be claimed as of January this year.
According to then inspector-general of police Razarudin Husain, investigations showed that at least 13 of the children were sodomised while some were also taught to sexually assault others.
Several individuals were later charged in court in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Penang with physically and sexually abusing children at welfare homes linked to GISBH.
A teacher at an education and welfare centre owned by GISBH was sentenced to 10 years in jail for physically abusing four children.
Last week, 22 senior leaders of GISBH were each sentenced to a 15-month jail term, but the court ordered that their imprisonment run from the date of their arrests in 2024, enabling them to be released on the same day when sentence was passed.
They had pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of being part of an unlawful organisation, after their representations were accepted concerning their initial charge of being members of an organised crime group.
AGC must be transparent
Syerleena said the release of the 22 senior GISBH leaders has only exasperated Malaysians who watched as the organisation’s activities and the abuse of children in its welfare homes came to light.
She urged the Attorney-General’s Chambers to be transparent about why the 22 senior GISBH leaders were offered alternative charges, saying Malaysians deserved clarity.
“More importantly, Malaysians need to know whether investigations are still ongoing, not just into the individuals convicted, but also the wider network that allowed such abuse to thrive.
“Cases like this rarely involve only a handful of people. For those who have witnessed the trauma these children endured, this development feels like justice has been cut short,” said Syerleena.