SHAH ALAM - The Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) presented the academic excellence awards today to honour the achievements of Malaysian students, including the huffaz community, as well as those who excelled in the 2023 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) and Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) examinations.
The ceremony was officiated by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar who presented the awards and incentives to the recipients.
In his speech, Na'im congratulated the students for their achievement and dedication, noting that their hard work served as an inspiration and a positive example for others.
"The Madani Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is very committed and earnest in elevating the development of Islamic values in Malaysia, including Islamic education," he said.
He also said there was a RM1.9 billion allocation set aside in the 2024 Budget for this initiative.
An amount of RM3,137,440 had been allotted for 698 excellent students who were recipients of the School Assistance Programme and students from MAIWP educational institutions.
Each of these students will also receive a laptop and cash incentives from the National Education Savings Scheme (SSPN-i).
Na'im said following the SPM results released on June 8, MAIWP agreed to offer incentives to encourage Quran memorisation, categorised by the number of Juzuk memorised: Juzuk 30, Juzuk 1 to 5, Juzuk 1 to 10, Juzuk 1 to 20 and Juzuk 1 to 30.
"A total of 529 students will receive these memorisation incentives, amounting to RM1,937,750," he said.
He also emphasised the significance of these rewards in motivating the huffaz to promote and uphold the Quran within the community.
Na'im said to date, MAIWP has 11 educational institutions ranging from childcare centres to higher education.
The ability of these institutions to operate and conduct activities was due to the strength of the zakat funds received, benefiting 8,059 students and trainees.
"So far, MAIWP has offered zakat assistance through 38 schemes, covering areas such as welfare, education, entrepreneurship, healthcare, protection and community development.
"These are among the efforts undertaken by MAIWP to distribute and utilise the zakat funds received from zakat payers in the Federal Territory in the context of education and human capital development," he added.
He said MAIWP has distributed more than RM735 million of zakat funds to the needy categories in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan as of September 2024.