KUALA LUMPUR: Parents who send their children to unregistered tahfiz centres will be subject to legal action.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said the move was to educate them, especially those who were not willing to listen.
“We have said this before. All tahfiz centres must be registered.
“Only then we are able to know and monitor how the centre is being operated, and who is teaching what.
“But, they (parents) still do not want to heed our advice and keep enrolling their children at unregistered tahfiz centres.
“Personally, I am all for taking legal action against these parents. They just won’t listen,” he told reporters after attending the 2019 national level Maulidur Rasul celebration at the Axiata Arena here today.
Dr Mujahid was commenting on the death of 7-year-old tahfiz pupil Muhammad Aimin Nurul Amin at the Lanchang health clinic yesterday.
The boy was found in a listless condition, with bruises on several parts of his body, by a woman warden at the centre.
Mujahid said some tahfiz centres that had deviated from their original objective.
He said although it was the parents’ prerogative to send their children to such centres, they should not treat them as a dumping ground.
“Eventually, these centres will lose respect.”
Mujahid said the Federal Government had taken various measures, including emphasising that parents send their children to registered tahfiz centres only.
In terms of enforcement, Mujahid said his ministry had a platform to discuss tahfiz issues with the state government every three months.
He said he hoped that all state religious departments would take stricter action against tahfiz centres that ignored the safety and wellbeing of pupils.