KUALA LUMPUR: Any decision to impose a similar fatwa (religious edict) made against Al-Arqam in 1994 on Global Ikhwan Service and Business Holding (GISB) must go through relevant authorities.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan said despite calls for the government and religious authorities to impose the fatwa on GISB, due process must be done.
"As stated by the office of the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs), we will continue the process as outlined.
"This means that any announcement, declaration, or decision must go through the relevant authorities.
"We cannot bypass these entities to ensure we reach a comprehensive decision that is legitimate in the eyes of all relevant authorities," Zulkifli told reporters after the Madani International Seminar titled 'Ummatan Wasata Peneraju Keharmonian, Pembangunan dan Keamanan Global' at Universiti Malaya today.
Yesterday, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof urged religious authorities in every state to enforce the fatwa in 1994 on all members of GISB, so that they return to the right path in terms of Islamic teachings.
In 1994, Al-Arqam, which linked to GISB, had been declard haram based on the fatwa gazetted on the religious sect.
On Sept 11 this year, police rescued 402 children from 20 homes connected to GISB during a raid, which also resulted in the arrest of 171 people.
Meanwhile, asked about police findings that some of the rescued children have "bin Abdullah" in their registered names, Zulkifli said the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) will discuss with the authorities to reach a more effective decision and address the issue.
In certain cases for Muslims in Malaysia, the "bin Abdullah" in documentation may indicate that the person was born without any details on who their parents were.
"This has already been studied and we hope that any issues will be resolved comprehensively.
"Jakim will continue to engage with the authorities to reach a better decision and resolve the matter," said Zulkifli.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain had said based on investigations, some of the rescued children had "bin Abdullah" in their registered name, indicating that the children were born without any details on who their parents were.
Razarudin had also said of a possibility that some of their parents were also illegally married (perkahwinan tak sah). This is why we have taken samples from the children and will conduct DNA analysis to verify who their parents are.
It was reported that GISB has been on the police watch list since 2011 and the coordinated raids on 20 welfare homes were the culmination of a six-month probe to gather intelligence, build a case and formulate an action plan.
Police had been monitoring the company long before the recent allegations of child exploitation and abuse went viral on social media.
It was reported the victims had endured various forms of exploitation and abuse, including being sodomised.
and any links to the case.