KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad said not all tahfiz centres that have registered with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will be allowed to continue operating.
He said the purpose of having the tahfiz schools registered with the local council is to ensure that the safety standards of these centres are not compromised, and so that they can be monitored.
“When we asked them to come forth and have themselves registered, it is for us to have the list of tahfiz schools in the Federal Territories and see how we can help, such as looking into the safety aspects of the schools.
“But when they have registered with us, it does not mean they are approved. It is to get them enlisted so we can determine any problems they are facing, instead of not even knowing some of the schools exist,” said Khalid at a press conference here, today.
Khalid said while many of the centres are registered under the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi), some are not registered with either Jawi or DBKL and are operating without the knowledge of the administrative bodies.
He said since the announcement was made on September 26 for the operators to register themselves with the local council, almost 120 tahfiz schools have come forward to DBKL.
“We have had engagement sessions with Jawi and NGOs in determining the tahfiz schools. We will be meeting with the school operators in a closed-door session on Friday,” he said.
Khalid had on September 27 said that tahfiz centres that fail to register with City Hall by December 31 will be closed.
He said the local council has the right to shut down unlicensed establishments, which includes tahfiz centres.
