By Norrasyidah Arshad
KLANG, Oct 12 — A total of 435 children rescued from care homes operated by GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISBH) in the state are undergoing comprehensive rehabilitation, including improvements to their health and physical development.
State executive councillor for Islam Dr Fahmi Ngah said in addition to focusing on their faith, nutrition must also be prioritised, as many of these children lack proper nourishment, resulting in stunted growth and smaller body sizes for their age.
“Some appear as small as seven years old, but are actually ten. They are stunted due to poor nutrition. They only know dry biscuits, and when given Oreo cookies, they held onto them until night.
“They had never tasted biscuits with cream in the middle. So, what have they been eating all this time? They have no knowledge of the outside world,” he said in his speech at the Kolej Hafiz 21st Convocation today.
Elaborating further, Fahmi said the state government faces a significant challenge in correcting the children’s faith, which has strayed, in addition to addressing emotional and psychological aspects.
As a result, the state has formed a special task force, which includes various parties such as the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais), the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais), and psychologists, to aid in their rehabilitation.
“These children are different because they’ve never seen the outside world. They’ve never encountered Chinese or Indian people, thinking that only Malays exist. By the age of 18, they only know of one race.
“Their belief in the pillars of faith includes seven, one more than the traditional six. The extra one is the blessing of Abuya. This is a huge responsibility for us because we also have to consider their future. They are smart and could become valuable assets,” he added.
Selangor has established a special task force to oversee a rehabilitation programme specifically designed for the children rescued from GISBH care homes in the state.
The task force is jointly chaired by Fahmi and the state executive councillor for welfare Anfaal Saari.
GISBH children disciplined, well-mannered
Meanwhile, Selangor Quran Tahfiz Institutions Association (Pitas) chairman Muhamad Hafiz Muhamad Haneefa said the rescued children possess high moral values and discipline but are found to revere the former founder of Al-Arqam, Ashaari Muhammad, or Abuya.
He said based on his experience with these children, most of them can recite the Quran well and are diligent in their prayers, including regularly performing the night prayers.
“They are disciplined and well-mannered. This is one of their strengths. We cannot deny that they possess good character, but their understanding and faith need to be corrected.
“I had an experience where their kopiah (skullcap) was taken to be replaced with a new one. They cried for the original kopiah because they believed it carried Abuya’s blessing. This kind of indoctrination is dangerous for the children.
“The Negeri Sembilan Mufti Department has noted that we should not excessively glorify teachers because it brings harm, not only to the teachers but also to the children,” he said at the convocation ceremony.
Hafiz added that over the past two weeks, 20 teachers from Pitas had been sent to teach Quran memorisation and recitation to nearly 300 GISBH children.
“Pitas is also involved in the special task force established to rehabilitate these children. We are now in the second week. From Monday to Friday, between 2pm and 4pm, we teach the children.
“Although their care homes have been closed, they possess excellent Quranic recitation skills that should be nurtured. We are providing teachers to teach them. We hope to assist the state government in helping these children out of an unhealthy environment,” he said.
