00:00A backbencher has urged the government to take concrete measures to prevent a repeat
00:05of the Global Equine Services and Business Holdings Sundan Burhat case, which led to
00:10the rescue of over 500 children from various charity homes last year.
00:16Bukit Bandera MP Shirlina Abdul Rashid said the case was deeply unsettling for many Malaysians
00:22as it exposed the weaknesses of the country's child protection system and the need for reforms.
00:28She urged the relevant authorities, including the Women, Family and Community Development
00:32as well as Home Ministries, to conduct an audit of every single unregistered and private welfare
00:38home for children in the country.
00:40Shirlina also called for the Child Act 2001 to be amended to make provisions for penalties
00:45for institutional neglect and systemic abuse of children and for a centralized database
00:50to monitor every child under institutional care.
00:54Last year, some 560 children were rescued from GISBH-linked welfare homes, with 536 reunited
01:01with families, 11 under guardians and 13 unclaimed, while investigations found at least 13 had
01:08been sodomized and some taught to assault others.
01:12Several individuals were later charged in court in Selangor, Negeri Sambilan and Penang with
01:16physically and sexually abusing children at welfare homes linked to GISBH.
01:22Last week, 22 senior GISBH leaders were each sentenced to 15 months in jail with time backdated
01:29to their 2024 arrests, prompting their immediate release, with Shirlina urging the Attorney General's
01:34chambers to clarify why alternative charges were offered.
01:38Natasha Beast, FMT
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