JOHOR BARU: At least 15 private tahfiz centres in Johor have questionable fire safety measures put in place.
Johor State Islamic Religious Department's (JAINJ) Islamic Education deputy director Anoar Sarimi said this was the number of tahfiz centres that were unregistered due to issues with their operation permits.
Anoar said it was mandatory for privately-run tahfiz centres and private religious schools to register with the department before it can operate and enrol students.
"Johor's Islamic Religious Schools Controls Enactment 1991 compels operators of private tahfiz centres to register their institutes with the department within the first six months of operation.
"If they failed to do so, the department will request for the operator to re-submit their tahfiz centre's registration application within six months," Anoar told the New Straits Times.
He said an operation permit was issued when certain criteria was fulfilled. This included a check on whether it was feasible for the religious school to operate in a particular area.
"The school or centre must also obtain validation from the Fire and Rescue Department and it must comply to building safety standards," he said.
Based on statistics obtained from the department, there were 95 tahfiz centres and 10 madrasah pondok (Islamic religious schools) in Johor that were registered under the JAINJ.
Another seven private religious secondary schools and 28 private religious primary schools were also registered under the JAINJ.
"However, the department records revealed that another 15 tahfiz centres, two private religious secondary schools and two private religious primary schools have not been registered," he said.
In the wake of a fire that caused the death of 23 people at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school in Kampung Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, the JAINJ will convene a meeting with private Islamic religious school operators in Johor on Sept 20.
State Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Abd Mutalip Abd Rahim will chair the meeting to be held at SMK Bekok near Segamat.
"The meeting will address the importance of getting their premises to adhere to building safety checks by the Fire and Rescue Department, and for them to comply to the building safety design specifications and requirements," said Anoar.
Meanwhile, Johor Fire and Rescue Department director Othman Abdullah said the department would probably conduct staggered checks, based on different zones in Johor once it receives the full list of school operators that flouted fire safety regulations.
"We will conduct checks, but the details such as the number of schools that will be checked are not determined yet," said Othman.
Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar yesterday urged for the Fire and Rescue department to identify schools that were exposed to the risk of fire in Johor.
A nationwide order was also issued today by the Fire and Rescue Department for all its state departments to check tahfiz and religious schools