KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has expressed "regret" and "disappointment" that religious authorities did not act against GISB Holdings (GISBH) sooner.
"Various evidence points to suspected criminal activities such as the abuse of students, exploitation of children, forced labour, and sexual offences including sodomy, occurring in several charity homes and Islamic schools under GISBH's control," said Sultan Sharafuddin.
Sultan Sharafuddin said the criminal acts tarnished the reputation and sanctity of Islam.
"We must accept the reality that the delay in addressing this issue indicates weaknesses in monitoring and enforcement by religious agencies," Sultan Sharafuddin said in a statment.
He advised parents and guardians sending their children to religious schools or charity care centres to check the background of these institutions.
"This is essential to avoid sending children to unregistered schools and care centres with dubious programs and teachings.
GISB is now the focus of a police investigation after raids were conducted on 20 welfare homes allegedly linked to the group last week. The raids saw 402 people, some as young as 1-year-old, rescued.
Police said the victims had endured various forms of exploitation and abuse, including being sodomised.
GISB has since denied the allegations of child exploitation and sexual abuse.