JOHOR BARU: Police arrested 29 individuals and rescued 30 children and teenagers from eight Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISB)-affiliated premises in five districts in the state.
Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said 43 GISB-affiliated premises were identified in the state.
Police, said Onn Hafiz, targeted eight of the premises in a joint operation codenamed Op Global, leading to the arrests and rescues between Sept 20 and 21 in the state capital here, Kluang, Segamat, Kota Tinggi and Mersing.
He said the rescued children and teenagers will be placed under the care of the Welfare Department for a month, and the Johor Islamic Religious Council (MAINJ) had allocated RM20,000 for the department to cover their clothing and educational needs. However, Onn Hafiz did not elaborate on their condition.
"Following recent public concern about GISB's operations in Johor and to safeguard the sanctity of Islam and protect the people's safety and welfare, the state government, through MAINJ, had been working closely with the police on the group's presence in the state," Onn Hafiz said in a statement today.
During the raids, police confiscated more than 20 suspicious books and pamphlets believed to be related to Aurad Muhammadiah, a controversial teaching linked to GISB.
Eight of the arrested suspects were found with these materials, said Onn Hafiz.
"Possession of these publications, which have been prohibited, is an offence under the Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 1997, specifically Section 9 (Defying Religious Authorities) and Section 13 (Publishing Content Contrary to Islamic Teachings)," the statement read.
MAINJ, the statement said, in collaboration with the Islamic Development Department Malaysia, was scrutinising GISB's status using existing legal frameworks.
A special task force had been established to rehabilitate the faith of GISH followers in the state, focusing on their children's education, placement, and welfare.
"Let me emphasise that the state government will continue to take stern action against any party found guilty of endangering children or promoting practices that deviate from Islamic teachings," he Onn Hafiz.