Children of detained Malaysian couple want to stay with a Muslim family

The children of the Malaysian couple in Sweden who were arrested for allegedly beating them for not praying, has asked to be put under the care of Malay Muslim family from Malaysia whilst in foster care.

The oldest child of Azizul Raheem Awalludin and Shalwati Norshal, Aishah, 14 expressed this when she was allowed to meet with the Malaysian embassy representative and Swedish social workers recently.

Aishah said that she and her siblings are currently under the care of a non-Muslim family but they found it hard to adjust to their new environment.

Meanwhile, the Swedish government has given approval for family representatives to meet the children of the Malaysian couple.

Azizul, a Tourism Malaysia director in Stockholm and his wife Shalwati, a secondary school teacher who is currently on unpaid leave, have also requested for their children to be put under the care of a Malay Muslim family from the staff at the Malaysian embassy in Stockholm.

Wisma Putra has reportedly identified four Muslim families who are able to care for the children.

Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin said the list was provided by the Malaysian welfare department through the embassy has been forwarded to the Swedish social services for vetting.

He adds that this process may take some time as each family will need to be interviewed during this process.