KUALA LUMPUR: A booth, supposedly belonging to Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB) at the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (Mihas) is no longer there.

Checks at the Mihas venue here on Wednesday (Sept 18) found the allocated area replaced with couches and sofas for guests.

Mihas is an annual halal trade show which is being held from Sept 17 to 20 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec) this year.

The allocated space was located close to the entrance of the exhibition hall.

It is learnt that the booth sported an Arabian concept with a 10-foot-tall tree as part of the setup.

Several vendors said they saw the booth, bearing the company’s name, being set up on Monday (Sept 16) but found it closed the next day (Sept 17).

“There were works being done and we saw the booth being set on Monday.

“The company’s name and logo were there,” said a vendor who spoke anonymously.

Another vendor here said they were surprised that the booth “went missing” just a day after it was set up.

“We saw the company name on the signboards during the setup but it was all gone the next day,” he said.

It is however unclear if the booth was voluntarily closed or ordered to do so.

Another vendor, known as Jafri, said he also saw GISB Holdings leadership here during the setup.

“It was here till late in the night. It was quite extravagant but there were no products on display at the time.

“When I arrived at about 730am the next day, the booth was already cleared,” he said

The Star has reached out to the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) for a response.

Last week, 402 children – 201 boys and 201 girls aged between one and 17 years – were rescued in police raids on 20 children’s homes, across Selangor and Negri Sembilan, linked to GISB which is alleged to have exploited children under the guise of a religious charity.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain had said that 171 people, including instructors, dormitory guardians and heads of educational centres, were also arrested.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/09/18/gisb-booth-missing-from-halal-trade-show-at-mitec