WHO can we really trust? Time and time again we see how seemingly famous and highly-regarded individuals are toppled from their pedestals by crimes usually linked to sexual and physical abuse and drugs.
America might be consumed by the upcoming presidential election on Nov 5 between two very controversial candidates but the nation is also gripped by the shocking sex scandal of a truly top-drawer celebrity, the three Grammy-award winning music producer and rapper Sean Combs who is known by his stage name. P. Diddy and formerly, Puff Daddy.
He was arrested and, on Sept 17, charged with racketeering, sex trafficking, and transporting for prostitution. He has also been hit by a series of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual and other misconduct.
Combs is not the first high-profile US entertainment industry figure embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal. R&B singer R. Kelly, another powerful music industry mogul, was convicted of sex trafficking, racketeering, child sex crimes, and other charges and was sentenced to a total 31 years imprisonment by two separate courts in 2021 and 2022.
Before him was the notorious Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, a convicted serial rapist who used his enormous influence in the film business to commit rape, sexual assault, and abuse over a period of at least 30 years.
In the same rogues gallery is multimillionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged in 2019 with sexually exploiting and abusing dozens of underaged girls at his many homes in the United States. He died in prison, supposedly by suicide, while awaiting trial.
In all the cases mentioned, there were undeniable similarities: the men were very high profile, immensely wealthy and powerful, with ties to celebrities, politicians, and, in Epstein’s case, even royalty. And what is most shocking, they were able to carry out their heinous acts for decades even though there were numerous allegations and reports filed against them.
It is not just powerful individuals who are guilty of such evil – so too are established entities, the standout one being the Catholic Church.
In 2021, an independent inquiry commissioned by the French Catholic Church released its findings, reporting that 216,000 children in France had been sexually abused by members of the clergy since 1950.
But the abuse was not confined to France. As the BBC reported, there has been an "avalanche” of child sexual abuse accusations over many decades against the church in countries around the world.
According to the BBC, a 2004 church-commissioned report revealed that more than 4,000 US Roman Catholic priests had faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years, involving more than 10,000 children – mostly boys.
Another report in 2009 found that sexual and psychological abuse was "endemic" in Catholic-run industrial schools and orphanages in Ireland for most of the 20th century.
In our own backyard, we have the on-going case involving Global Ikhwan Service and Business Holding (GISB) which by now must be Malaysia’s worst child abuse and exploitation scandal with, according to Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain, the arrest of 415 individuals and the rescue of 625 victims aged between two months and 28 years old since the launch of Op Global in September.
So far, as of Oct 23,GISB chief executive officer and chairman Nasiruddin Mohd Ali, his wife Azura Md Yusof, and Adib At-Tamimi – the son of Al-Arqam’s founder Ashaari Muhammad – have been charged with 19 other people, aged between 27 and 72, under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code for being part of an organised crime group.
While it is commendable that decisive action is finally being taken against the alleged perpetrators, the elephant in the room remains: Why did it take so long when there had been 41 police reports lodged since 2011?
It is a question that bothered the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who pointedly said in a statement through the Selangor Royal Office: "We must accept the fact that the delay in handling this issue highlighted the weaknesses in monitoring and enforcing laws by religious organisations against charity homes and religious schools linked to GISB.”
He added that the organisation’s network was so vast that this issue had become very serious and out of control.
Indeed, GISB managed to evolve into a multimillion ringgit, multinational conglomerate that is into all sorts of businesses. It was so impressive that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad visited their business premises three years ago and showered the leaders with praise.
Hence, perceived as a Malay company that was a shining example of successful bumiputra entrepreneurship built on Islamic principles, it’s no wonder that GlSB top brass managed to weasel their way into meeting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last April.
But impressive facades cannot be used to excuse wrongdoing. Both Combs and Weinstein hid their nefarious ways with a virtuous veneer. Combs projected himself as a caring mentor who nurtured young talents and Weinstein as an activist for causes like gun control, poverty, juvenile diabetes, and multiple sclerosis research.
Sisters in Islam said it best in their Sept 25 statement titled “When religion becomes a shield for exploitation”:
"What truly sickens the soul (is) the appalling response of some members of our society – the very people who should be condemning these acts are instead defending them, spinning excuses rooted in religious and cultural narratives.
"Even more concerning, factions are attempting to shift the narrative by arguing, ‘We must protect Muslim businesses’. But does the fact that it’s a Muslim-owned business justify atrocities committed against children? This kind of reasoning promotes blind loyalty and distorts Islam for personal gain.
"How have we reached a point where such blatant abuses are excused in the name of faith or business? This isn’t about Islam; it’s about people hiding behind religion to justify their wrongs.”
That is why Sultan Sharafuddin’s concerns about monitoring and enforcement weaknesses that led to the delay in action being taken must be addressed. And that requires a royal commission of inquiry as so many notable NGOs like the Bar Council, Suhakam (Human Rights Commission Malaysia) and G25 have called for.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution told the Dewan Rakyat there are no plans for such a commission yet as he wants to give space to the police to complete their investigations first. But I think the point he’s missing is that another independent body is needed to find out why the police and organisations like Jakim (Islamic Development Department) did not act much earlier.
No right thinking person blames Islam here, but if the religion and connections were misused by certain quarters as a shield for abuse and exploitation and to delay action, then that must never be allowed to happen again.
Perhaps a better and more holistic approach is to do what Australia did. In response to a series of scandals, the government in 2013 set up a Royal Commission to investigate all institutional child sexual abuse, not just Catholic-run homes and orphanages.
The findings released in 2017 were still quite damning, but even after the appalling findings on predatory priests and nuns from Australia and several other countries were released, the church did not collapse and the Christian faith remains unsullied, showing that religion is bigger than any human transgressions. Surely the same will hold true for Islam too.
The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.
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