SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Quran Tahfiz Institution (PITAS) will collaborate with the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) to establish specific guidelines for inviting tahfiz students to certain events and programmes.
This following the controversial attendance of tahfiz students at the Kepci Music Fest held in Melawati Stadium last Saturday, in conjunction with KFC's 50th anniversary in Malaysia
PITAS chairman Muhamad Hafiz Muhamad Haneefa stated that JAIS had previously published the Student Regulations Book (Student Character Development System) for private tahfiz institutions, but there were no specific guidelines regarding the invitation of students to external events and programmes.
"So, we see the possibility of sitting down with JAIS to discuss, so that specific guidelines can be issued regarding this issue. With these guidelines, tahfiz schools and religious schools will also be more cautious and careful in accepting external invitations. This is not the first case, as during the past Ramadan, there were cases of tahfiz students being invited to iftar events, followed by dancing events.
"We also hope that the public will not invite tahfiz students to inappropriate places such as concerts. Have compassion for the students. If there are events for reciting Yasin and prayers, prioritise those," he told reporters when met here today.
Muhammad Hafiz made these statements when addressing the issue of tahfiz students being invited to a concert in Shah Alam recently.
Further elaborating, he mentioned that the students in question are residents of a welfare home and not from a tahfiz school, as has been misunderstood.
"When we look back at it, this school is not a tahfiz school like ours. It is more of a welfare centre for Rohingya and Burmese refugees in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
"This has been confirmed by the organisers who sent out invitations to the individuals.
"In reality, several tahfiz and other welfare centres were invited to the event, but only for an afternoon meal," he said.
Meanwhile, addressing the issue of allegedly 200 religious schools being closed in Selangor, he stated that it was a fabrication and completely untrue.
"Provide the facts on which schools received the closure directive. I can confirm this myself with the chairman of the Selangor Islamic Schools Coalition (GASIS). They were also surprised by where this statement came from," he said.
He mentioned that PITAS oversees more than 400 schools registered under JAIS before the whitening exercise started in 2021.