RCI needed to restore confidence in child protection services

THE ongoing child sexual abuse scandal has shocked the nation. And, it has shaken many of us working in child protection under civil society organisations. The duration and scale of the abuse by Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH) is horrendous. It will take many months to uncover the full scope of the abuse and the possibility of a thousand children that have been severely traumatised over the decades. We hope attempts will also be made to identify children who have previously been in their facilities and offer them the support they need.

Of serious concern is the lack of oversight and action by the very agencies that we hoped would be child protectors – the Welfare Department and the police. We now hear that such a vast business infrastructure has not even paid taxes, raising concerns about the Inland Revenue Board’s (LHDN) abilities. It is as though government agencies have had a decades-long blind spot when it came to GISBH. A blind spot that placed thousands of children into a deep dark hell. This may also be true for other organisations in the country.