54 SUHAKAM among the home’s committee members. However, they discovered that the sexual abuse allegations were baseless. SUHAKAM interviewed the children and none of them said talked about any sexual harassment at the shelter. Regarding physical abuse, the Welfare Department interviewed the staff, and they denied that the children were beaten but said they would be reprimanded if they did anything wrong. The Welfare Department said it would conduct visits to the home to monitor the children’s welfare and the condition of the premises. Recommendations The following are SUHAKAM’s recommendations: i. The Welfare Department needs to close the children’s home until the management conflict is resolved; ii. The relevant stakeholders should monitor the appointment of committee members and ensure that each committee member has a deep interest and willingness to protect the children in the shelter without any personal interest; and iii. The home’s management should ensure that they do not verbally abuse the children. Such a practice should stop immediately and any committee members and/or staff who utter abusive words should be warned and subjected to disciplinary action. Children’s Home in Penang SUHAKAM also received a complaint of child abuse at a children’s shelter in Penang from a former staff member. SUHAKAM interviewed the complainant, guardian and parents of the children in the home, the police Investigation Officer (IO) of the case, the management of the home, and the Penang Welfare Department. SUHAKAM found that there was no physical or sexual abuse at the home. The complainant lodged the report because he was unhappy over his dismissal. However, during the investigation, SUHAKAM found other matters which need to be improved at the home: