Malaysian firm linked to Islamic sect denies allegations of child sex abuse

Global Ikhwan group, the company at the centre of a child sex case which has shocked Malaysia, on Thursday denied allegations of abuse of hundreds of minors, saying it did not manage the shelters where the alleged attacks took place and accusing Malaysian police of defamatory action on its business.

Malaysian police on Wednesday said they rescued 402 boys and girls, aged between one and 17, from the homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan they believed to be owned by the group where the victims were subjected to sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their caretakers.

In a statement on Thursday, Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH) said it believed that certain parties with an “agenda to bring down the image” of its business were behind the accusation.

“We deny all accusations because the said shelters are clearly not under the management of GISBH,” the group said. “It is not our policy to plan and implement things against Islamic sharia and national laws.”

The controversial company, labelled a cult by authorities, is believed to have close links to Al Arqam, a group banned by the Malaysian government in 1994 for practising and propagating Islamic beliefs which deviate from the state endorsed orthodoxy.

GISBH has made headlines in recent years over its promotion of polygamy and the Obedient Wives Club, an international Islamic religious organisation that encouraged wives to act like “first-class prostitutes” to keep husbands from straying.