IPOH, July 11 — Popular preacher Datuk Mohd Kazim Elias said today his Tahfiz Darul Barakah centre will not be closed down for the time being.

He said that he is discussing the matter with several parties at the moment, including the Perak state government.

Kazim, better known as "Ustaz Kazim”, said he had been contacted by representatives of the state government this morning, who told him that the authorities wanted to discuss the future of the tahfiz centre.

"We will decide on the status of the centre after talking to a number of parties, and this includes the state government,” he told a press conference today.

"If the decision is made to close the school, we will announce it four months beforehand. We can’t close it abruptly because we have 25 staff members who need to be informed early. The students’ families must have the chance to find an alternative school.”

Kazim said the decision to sell the tahfiz centre had originally been made after its operational funds started to run dry.

The school, he explained, was fully funded by the money he received from conducting ceramahs and public speaking appointments, sales during the ceramahs, and donations from the public.

Kazim said funds have been depleted over the last few months after organisers for his events began cancelling his speeches at the 11th hour.

"There were times where I’d be driving to the event or even in the holding room, and someone would suddenly tell me that the ceramah was cancelled,” he said.

"I feel there is an effort to curtail my events. I don’t know where the direction is coming from. But there were never any restrictions from the government or political party.”

Kazim said he was distraught by the cancellations because it affected his ability to run the tahfiz centre.

The preacher said it took around RM150,000 per month to fund the operations of the centre.

"The centre is my soul. It’s not about my personal finance but I worry about the students. I have never asked for sympathy or donations,” he said.

Students attending class at the Tahfiz Darul Barakah centre. — Picture by Marcus Pheong

The Darul Barakah unit is part of the Al Barakah education centre that Kazim runs in Manjoi here. Opened in 2006, the centre also includes a kindergarten and an adult education unit.

Since the tahfiz centre opened its doors in 2010, it has steadily attracted between 100 to 200 students a year.

It features Mandarin and Tamil language classes, swimming classes, and comfortable facilities — including washrooms featuring a ratio of one washroom to two students.

Kazim said the centre was designed to be a modern progressive learning centre, and was also a tourist attraction for Ipoh.

"We receive 30 busloads of visitors every Sunday. There are even tourists from countries like France, Sweden and Japan,” he noted.

After his speaking appointments decreased, Kazim said the management had considered closing one of the units to save costs, or selling the centre’s assets.

With this in mind, Kazim said the management decided to advertise the sale of the tahfiz centre on mudah.com, to see if there were parties interested to take over the centre.

He also moved to dispel confusion about the other two units under the centre, stressing that they would not be closed.

On a separate issue, Kazim also criticised former Information Minister Tan Sri Zainudin Maidin’s call to close tahfiz centres nationwide, calling it a ‘busuk’ (foul) idea.

Kazim said it was wrong to suppose that tahfiz students had no future, as they only needed the right support to succeed in life.

"I am from a tahfiz school and some of my friends are doctors, government department deputy directors, and corporate figures,” he said.

"Don’t say there is no future for them. They only need the right support and direction.”