By M Krishnamoorthy – Never mix business with religion. Challenges related to managing religion in the workplace are on the rise. With Gen Z, AI and advanced technology doing business while dabbling in religion turned out to be disastrous for a Malaysian company last week.
Global Ikhwan Service & Business Holdings (GISB) Holdings, a Muslim conglomerate was established in 2010. It has assets totalling around RM325 million (US$74.9 million) globally.
The company owns supermarkets, minimarkets, bakeries, 120 restaurants and other businesses in Malaysia, the Middle East, Europe and China.
The conglomerate operates a network of 415 business outlets across 20 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australasia, as reported by local media.
They say never mix religion or politics with business. The purpose of business is profit, and not to preach political or religious beliefs. Successful entrepreneurs hold strong beliefs about business and religion staying separate.
Will the Government investigate and close it down after intense scrutiny like its predecessor Al Arqam?
According to a local daily, GISB generates an annual revenue of RM187 million, comparable to many public-listed companies. Founded in 2010, GISB has 25 subsidiaries, including logistics and maritime, with businesses in 20 countries worldwide.
It has halal Malaysian restaurants in Sydney, Singapore, Dubai, Bangkok, London, and Cairo, as well as other businesses in France, Russia, and Guangzhou, China, and an Ikhwan-branded food business.
GISB has been linked to the defunct Malaysia-based Al-Arqam religious sect, which was banned by the Malaysian government in 1994. It has acknowledged the link but now describes itself as an Islamic conglomerate based on Muslim practices.
However, on 11th September 2024, the Malaysian authorities widened their investigation into a prominent Islamic business organization. This occurred a day after police rescued more than 400 children suspected of being sexually abused at charity homes run by the group.
The Selangor state Islamic religious department said it was scrutinising the group’s religious education facilities and had asked police to hand over any teaching material seized during raids on Sept 11 on the homes to determine if any offences were committed under Islamic laws.
Muslim-majority Malaysia runs a dual-track legal system, with Islamic laws running alongside secular ones.
Global Ikhwan group, the company at the centre of a child sex case which shocked Malaysia. The company’s officials denied allegations of abuse of hundreds of minors, saying it did not manage the shelters where the alleged attacks took place and accusing Malaysian police of defamatory action on its business.
Last week, Malaysian police said they rescued 402 boys and girls, aged between one and 17, from the homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan they believed to be owned by the group where the victims were subjected to sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their caretakers.
In its statement, GISB said it believed that certain parties with an “agenda to bring down the image” of its business were behind the accusation.
“We deny all accusations because the said shelters are not under the management of GISBH,” the group said. “It is not our policy to plan and implement things against Islamic sharia and national laws.”
GISB has made headlines in recent years over its promotion of polygamy and the Obedient Wives Club, an international Islamic religious organisation that encouraged wives to act like “first-class prostitutes” to keep husbands from straying.
It has 5,356 employees, 1,698 of whom are adults and the rest are “youths”. Its network covers 1,656 families, 465 of which are polygamous.
Inspector General of Police Razarudin Husain said “We believe the children are the offspring of GISB members”.
Forewarning on GISB’s conduct
About a month ago, the State mufti of the Perlis state in Malaysia, Asri Zainul Abidin revealed in a lecture on August 16 that the National Fatwa Council was looking into GISB’s conduct, calling it a cult that prevented people from leaving.
The council is a body under the aegis of the king and state rulers through its role as the head of Islam in the country.
Citing former members, Asri alleged that the group split those members from their spouses and children and that members’ lives were dictated by leaders who decided whom they should marry and when they could see their wives.
Freelance Writer M. Krishnamoorthy (www.imkrishna.net) is a media coach, adjunct professor and undercover journalist. He has freelanced with BusinessToday, Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German and Australian Television networks and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society’s concerns.
