KUANTAN: Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob urged parents in Pahang to check the safety aspects of tahfiz schools before enrolling their children.
He said parents in their desire to get the best religious education for their children were overly focused only on the syllabus offered by the tahfiz schools but they should also check if these establishments complied with fire safety regulations.
He said in the past Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had voiced his concern on the mushrooming of tahfiz schools due to concerns on the schools' compliance with safety aspects.
"The problem arises if we are too focused on seeking 'pahala' (good deeds) and want our children to be 'hufazzah, hafiz and hafizah' (people who are well-versed in the Quran).
"But we must remember to take into account safety aspects (of the tahfiz schools) in light of the recent death of 23 people.
"What more can be said? In Malaysia the problem is when something happens, various suggestions flood in," he said when met after the state-level Malaysia Day celebration at Kompleks Sukan, Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) Gambang campus here this afternoon.
His comments were in relation to the inferno that killed 21 students and two teachers-cum-wardens at Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school at Jalan Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, in the early hours of Thursday.
Adnan said the problem in the state was particularly acute as every village had a tahfiz school, with one village even having three such schools.
"The safety aspects (of the schools) are not checked. Whenever there is money, more (tahfiz school-related) buildings would be constructed instead," he said, adding that he leaves it to the relevant authorities like the state arm of the Home Ministry and Education Ministry to look into the matter.
He said the mushrooming of tahfiz schools would make it very difficult to ensure only such schools with proper safety aspects were constructed.
"I can have a meeting with all operators of tahfiz schools but we are limited (in what can be done)," he said.
"Do not just chase (after the pursuit of enrolling students in tahfiz schools), please also look into the safety of the buildings," he reminded parents.
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KEYWORDS: Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, urged, parents, Pahang, check, safety, tahfiz schools, enrolling, children, mushrooming