KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 — The controversy surrounding GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISBH), which has been implicated in issues of exploiting children and religion, has intensified as Perlis became the first state to declare that the teachings and beliefs promoted by the group contain elements of deviant teachings, particularly in the aspect of spirituality.

The decision was made following a special meeting of the Perlis State Fatwa Committee today, which found that the group’s beliefs elevate their leaders and religious figures to an excessive level, nearly equating them with the Prophet Muhammad.

Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, when announcing the matter, said that the ideology brought by GISBH was a continuation of the teachings of ‘Al-Arqam’, which had previously been declared heretical.

Moreover, the company’s economic model was found to be in conflict with Islamic economic principles as it involved elements of oppression, slavery of those involved, and exploitation of members, children, and women.

At the same time, the Negeri Sembilan state government today expressed its hope that federal religious authorities would make a clear determination regarding all matters related to GISBH.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun said this was to ensure that the public could clearly understand the matter, preventing any statements based on individual views that could cause confusion.

Meanwhile, the police continued Op Global by taking action against several more individuals believed to be linked to the company.

In an operation conducted last night and into this morning at four different locations in Kelantan and Pahang, the police arrested seven members of Remaja Pembela Ummah (RPU) under the company, including the child of a former senior leader of the Al-Arqam group and a member of GISBH’s top management.

These individuals, aged between 32 and 35, have been remanded for seven days starting today to assist in the investigation of a human trafficking case under Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (ATIPSOM) 2007.

Yesterday, the police detained 24 key individuals linked to GISBH, including the company’s top management, in arrests made in Kedah and the capital city through Op Global, bringing the total number of remanded individuals to 31 so far.

Meanwhile, in Seremban, another teaching assistant at a madrasah in Kuala Pilah pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to six charges of sexually abusing four boys last year.

The 20-year-old is facing two charges of making two boys aged 12 and 13 make sexual physical contact with him at the madrasah in 2023 which is an offence under Section 14 (b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.

He also faces four charges of physical sexual contact against four boys aged 10 to 13, with all the offences committed in the same madrasah in the same year, in accordance with Section 14 (a) of the Act.

This latest prosecution brings the total number of individuals linked to the company who have been brought to court for various offences, to six.

Yesterday, three teaching assistants from the same madrasah, namely Muhammad Habib Noh Mohd Zairi, 21, Muhammad Khunais Fathie Khabil, 20, and Ahmad Nadzful Izham Azizan, 22, were also charged in the Sessions Court with 14 counts of sexual assault against five boys in 2022 and 2023. — Bernama