GISB: Unmasking The Shadowy Sect Behind Malaysia’s Worst Child Sex Abuse Scandal

The GISB scandal reveals a harrowing tale of exploitation, as former members recount a legacy of abuse hidden behind a facade of faith 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.

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.

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.”

SCMP