TUMPAT: More than 130 children linked to Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISB) are still under the care of the Welfare Department and waiting to be returned to their parents.
Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the other children who had been rescued from GISB-linked homes have been placed under either the Fit and Suitable Person Custody Order (OYLS) or taken home by their parents and guardians.
"I would like to call on their parents or guardians to come to Welfare offices to prove their biological relationship... as of now, more than 130 GISB children are under the care of the Welfare Department.
"They (the parents) should not fear to meet the welfare officers as the officers will not arrest them, unless they have a criminal record with the police," she said after visiting flood victims at SK Sri Tumpat 2 here.
Nancy said there were also cases where the children's parents had asked the department to take care of their children temporarily.
"Some of them are facing financial problems due to the loss of their source of income and asked us to take care of their children," she said.
Nancy said the Welfare Department would continue to look after the children but only up to a certain period.
"After that, they have to be returned to their respective guardians.
"However, if the parents want the children to continue to be placed under Welfare Department permanently, they need to go through the courts," she said.