Only six out of 15 tahfiz centres in Perlis meet fire safety standards

KANGAR: Only six out of 15 government-aided tahfiz centres (religious schools) in Perlis meet the safety standards set by the Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM).
Perlis JPBM director, Mohd Fadzil Haroon said the Giat Mara centres (skills training centres) that were contracted to repair and maintain the wiring systems of all tahfiz centres, are expected to complete their work at the remaining nine tahfiz centres in the near future.
"We have carried out safety checks at all tahfiz centres and found that only six of them have the wiring system that meet the standards set by JBPM," he told the media after the department's state-level annual gathering here today.
Mohd Fadzil said all tahfiz centres need to be equipped with a complete set of fire prevention system including fire extinguishers.
The government has allocated RM50 million to improve fire safety aspects at all tahfiz centres nationwide this year, he said.
Meanwhile, in Kuching, the state JBPM has carried out safety inspections at 27 tahfiz centres throughout the state between September and December last year, including 19 non-registered private tahfiz centres.
Its director Nor Hisham Mohammad said eight notices were issued to tahfiz operators on various fire safety issues, and the follow-up safety inspections found that seven notices had already been complied with, while one tahfiz centre in Sibu was still at the implementation stage.
He said JBPM currently was in the midst of expanding its safety inspections to premises of old folks' homes, orphanages as well as religious learning centres.
Elsewhere, in Kuantan, a total of 35 tahfiz fire-fighting squads have been set up in Pahang thus far, said state JBPM director Datuk Abdul Wahab Mat Yassin.
He said the department was targeting all the 73 tahfiz centres in the state of which the safety systems have been inspected by JBPM, to have their own fire-fighting squads by the end of this year.
"We are also collaborating with the Pahang Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MUIP) and the Pahang Islamic Religious Department (JAIP) to identify and organise talks on fire safety awareness at all tahfiz centres," he said. — Bernama