Minister denies allegation of tahfiz schools closure in Selangor

SHAH ALAM – Religious affairs minister Datuk Dr Mohd Na 'im Mokhtar refutes claims that over 200 religious schools in Selangor have been instructed to close.

He stated that the viral issue was baseless and the accusations were made by irresponsible parties.

He said a guideline was enforced since Jan 1, 2021, to ensure the safety and well-being of students and the entire private tahfiz institution community.

"This was a response to a fatal fire accident at a private religious school in Kuala Lumpur in 2017," he stated in a Facebook video message today.

On Tuesday, a coalition of Islamic non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from Selangor and Negeri Sembilan expressed concern about the warning issue of the closure of religious schools in the state.

The Secretariat Chairman of the related NGO, Datuk Nazilah Idris, revealed that over 200 independent religious schools had been given eviction notices from their rented premises.

Na'im explained that concurrently, the enforcement of the guideline had received cooperation from the Selangor State Quranic Tahfiz Institutions Association (PITAS), which consisted of 478 private religious schools.

He added that the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) had been informed since 2021 that the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais), through the state government, had established that schools needed to meet the registration requirements outlined in the purification guideline.

"Flexibility has been granted to schools for a period of two years. During this time, Jais has issued extended registrations to schools to allow them to receive reviews from relevant agencies.

"The allegation that warnings have been given to private religious schools to vacate premises is entirely untrue and is intended to create unease among Muslims," he stated.

He emphasised that all parties should refer to the relevant authorities to ensure the accuracy and clarity of the facts and context of any issue.