KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today congratulated Malaysian "qari” (male Quran reciter) Muhammad Qayyim Nizar Sarimi for winning the men’s recitation category at the 63rd Malaysian International al-Quran Recitation and Memorisation Assembly (MTHQA 63) last night.
Muhammad Qayyim, visually impaired since birth, won with a score of 94.96 per cent.
Second place was won by Alireza Bizhaniavval from Iran who obtained a score of 93.30 per cent, while Awang Mohd Zul-Hafiz Awang Tengah from Brunei Darussalam was in third place with 90.38 per cent.
"I would also like to congratulate all the other winners in the special event which was attended by the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah, who also presented the prizes to the winners," said the Prime Minister in a post on his Facebook.
Anwar hoped that the holding of such a programme would not only glorify the Quran, but could also be used to enhance understanding of the holy book of the Muslims.
For the "qariah” (female reciter) category, Moroccan participant Sara Belmamoun emerged as the winner with a score of 93.05 per cent, while second place went to Raudhah Supian Noor from Indonesia (92.21 per cent) and third place went to Filipino participant Sabaha Pato Salik with 91.50 per cent. - BERNAMA