Tahfiz centres given until Dec 31 to register

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Territories Ministry has given until Dec 31 to Tahfiz centres (Islamic religious schools) operating in the capital to register with the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
Its minister Khalid Abd Samad (pix) said the move to make it mandatory for the tahfiz centres to register was to ensure the safety, welfare and education of the tahfiz students.
"Reports of some media that unregistered tahfiz centres in Kuala Lumpur will soon be closed is inaccurate and a misreporting. In this registration effort, the Federal Territories Ministry will work with Jawi to register all tahfiz centres," he said in a statement here yesterday.
Khalid said DBKL in collaboration with the Fire and Rescue Department and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) would examine the physical conditions of the Tahfiz centres to meet minimum safety and comfort requirements while Jawi would see the curriculum and learning of the students.
On Tuesday, he ordered the tahfiz in Kepong where at least nine students were allegedly sodomised by the principal to be closed as it operated without a permit. The principal, who was detained by the police, was recently charged in court.
Meanwhile, KUALA TERENGGANU, State Syariah Implementation, Education and Higher Education Committee chairman Satiful Bahri Mamat said the act of closing the tahfiz centre only because of an individual's offence was tyrannical because the punishment should be imposed on the offender only.
He said the said the closure of the tahfiz centre due to the mistake of its principal could also be likened to burning the mosquito net because of one's ire with a single mosquito.
He said this when asked to comment on the statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof who insisted the government would not hesitate to close down the tahfiz centre whose principal or owner was involved in sexual harassment cases. — Bernama