Anwar calls on tahfiz and ‘pondok’ school students to master new technologies to meet modern challenges

BENTONG, Jan 22 — Students of religious schools and pondok institutions are encouraged to master new technologies, which are seen as an important bulwark for Muslims in the country, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said that in addition to morals and proper conduct, the mastery of new knowledge such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital skills and computing is crucial in facing current changes and challenges.

“That is why among our allocations is to train maahad tahfiz students in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). Students of religious schools and pondok institutions are exposed to these new technologies without disrupting the existing syllabus — we are only adding a little.

“We must accept the reality that change demands that we be prepared as preachers and educators capable of meeting the challenges of the times,” he said when speaking at a gathering with students of Pahang state tahfiz schools at Masjid Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah here today.

The event, which attracted more than 300 tahfiz school students, was also attended by Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.

The Prime Minister also praised Pahang as one of the states at the forefront in elevating the status of maahad tahfiz and Islamic education in the country.

He reiterated that mastery of the Malay language and History is vital to enable the people to understand and appreciate the Federal Constitution.

“Our Constitution guarantees the position of Islam as the religion of the Federation, Bahasa Melayu as the official language, as well as the position and sovereignty of the Malay Rulers and the special rights of Malays and bumiputera… these must be taught to our children.

“Otherwise, even after 60 or 70 years of independence, we will still be arguing over language and special rights, when all these are already enshrined in the Constitution and should not be disputed,” he said.

Anwar had previously said that all schools in the country, including international schools, religious schools and Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) stream schools, are required to offer Bahasa Melayu and History as subjects for examination at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) level. — Bernama