SHAH ALAM, July 27 — Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate in the Sungai Kandis state by-election, has called for the upgrading of the infrastructure of tahfiz religious schools and their curriculum, saying these institutions also contributed to the shaping of excellent human capital.
He described those quarters which had suggested that tahfiz schools in the country be closed down as “rusty radios” that were behind time.
The tahfiz schools in the country, including in Selangor, might lack facilities but many of them were well supervised so much so that they produced much first-class human capital, he said to reporters after a visit to the Maahad Integrasi Tahfiz Sains and Teknologi Klang (MITST) in Alam Impian, Section 35, here.
“The MITST is a tahfiz institution that was upgraded by the (Selangor) state government and has become one of the best in the state. The state government has also helped a great deal in upgrading private tahfiz schools or those supervised by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department.
“This measure must be supported and endorsed by all quarters. Individuals must open their eyes and not deny the truth for the sake of garnering support,” he said.
Former information minister Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin recently suggested the closure of all tahfiz schools in the country, saying they were radical in character and did not shape a future for the new generation of Muslims.
Mohd Zawawi said that if given the mandate by the people of Sungai Kandis, he would help tahfiz schools in the constituency which lacked in terms of infrastructure and operating permits.
He said his experience as the headmaster of the Maahad Tahfiz Al Fateh Jalan Kebun enabled him to better understand the situation in these schools and he was confident that the teachers of these schools would be trained to disseminate knowledge well to the students.
MITST principal Abd Halim Saljadi dismissed allegations that the students of the school were less successful, saying the school had produced 360 Quran memorisers and many others were pursuing studies at institutions of higher learning in the country and abroad, including in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, New Zealand and Jordan.
“Some people say tahfiz students are less sociable, but the fact is that the students here get invitations to be the imam at prayers during Ramadan. We also organise activities for them to mix with the community, such as visits to hospitals, visiting scholars and participating in community activities,” he said.
The by-election is a three-cornered contest among Mohd Zawawi, who is from PKR; Lokman Noor of Umno and K. Murthy, an independent candidate. Polling is on August 4.
The by-election has been necessitated by the death of the assemblyman, Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei of PKR, on July 2. — Bernama
