PETALING JAYA: Village head Azlan Abd Rahman had always believed that the welfare school at Kampung Giching in Sepang was serving a good purpose.
On Wednesday, he was horrified by what he learnt after police personnel swarmed the place to rescue the children there.
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“The occupants of the centre hardly spoke to anyone here and I was always under the impression there were some good things taking place there, but I was horrified by what I read afterwards.
“Being a religious centre, it is shameful that such things allegedly happened ... not at a place where children are supposed to be raised with strict religious guidance,” he said, adding that he had only seen boys living at the centre.
Azlan said he had gone to the centre during the raid to find out more but the police did not disclose details of the operation.
He was not alone. Many residents living close to welfare homes linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB) in Sepang and Klang were also shocked to learn of the alleged abuse of children at the centres.
It has been reported that some of the children were allegedly sodomised, forced to perform sexual acts and also physically abused.
At five other locations in Sepang and Klang, residents and business operators also said the inmates and staff of the centres kept to themselves and rarely mingled with locals.
Kampung Seri Aman, Sepang, Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK) head Amali Pumiman said about 10 years ago, the centre in the settlement was raided by the authorities, but it was back operating soon after.
The home, in a remote area of the village, is fenced up and all activities were conducted within the compound, Amali said.
Apart from a plot of land which was used for agriculture, there was also a stable with two or three horses within the compound, he said, adding that the JPKK would often invite the children for social events and programmes.
“Some of the children have attended our events in the past. We are aware of the controversy surrounding this centre. However, since they hardly interact with any of us, we really do not know what is going on at that place.
“We are glad the authorities are taking action against any alleged deviant teachings at the centre,” he added.
Amali said there were two centres in the area that separately housed male and female children, aged between seven and their late teens.
At Bandar Bukit Raja, Klang, a primary school, hostels and several business outlets linked to GISB were shuttered after Wednesday’s raid.
Willian Tan, a building contractor whose store is next to the primary school housed in a shop lot on Jalan Sumazau 3c, said he was shocked to learn of the alleged abuse.
“The boys and girls studying here were really polite and pleasant. They would call me ‘uncle’ whenever we bumped into each other. The children would arrive in a van in the morning and leave the same way in the evening.” he said.
Another worker at a neighbouring shop lot said he had not noticed that the teachers at the school kept changing regularly and that the children were moving homes quite often.
On Jalan Rodat 2a/Ku5, a cafe, a bakery and a boutique that carried the name Ikhwan and believed to be GISB-owned were closed while the entrance to the upper floors, which served as hostels for children, were sealed off by the Social Welfare Department.
An owner of a nearby restaurant said the children living at the homes were never seen outdoors except when leaving for school and returning.
“The cafe, bakery and boutique hardly have customers. Sometimes, we see two or three people having a drink at the cafe. I don’t know how they have managed to sustain their business with so few customers,” he said.
A double-storey terrace corner house in a quiet, gated residential area on Jalan Rodat 8/Ku6, which had also been raided, was too found sealed off with tape.
