By Yasmin Ramlan
SHAH ALAM, June 21 — State executive councillor for Islam and innovation Dr Fahmi Ngah expects to see over 75 per cent of Selangor’s unregistered tahfiz schools obtain their operating licences under the state’s new guidelines.
He said the launch of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department’s (Jais) upgraded data centre today will facilitate this process.
“We initially implemented the registration guidelines for tahfiz institutions in the previous term, but compliance was only at 15 per cent then.
“Now, under these so-called ‘guidelines 2.0’, with a new approach, we expect the number of approvals to be higher.
“I expect about 75 to 80 per cent (of tahfiz schools) to be successfully registered under these new guidelines,” he told Selangor Journal after attending the launch of Jais’ upgraded data centre at the Sultan Idris Shah building here today.
Currently, 724 tahfiz schools operating in the state have yet to register with Jais.
Fahmi said tahfiz school operators can register their institutions under the Selangor Quran Tahfiz Institutions Association until year-end.
[caption id="attachment_361214" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) director Mohd Shahzihan Ahmad speaks during the launch of Jais’ upgraded data centre at the Sultan Idris Shah Building, Shah Alam, on June 21, 2024. — Picture by HAFIZ OTHMAN/SELANGORKINI[/caption]
In his speech, Fahmi emphasised the importance of assisting unregistered tahfiz schools to obtain their licences to ensure safety and prevent a recurrence of the fatal fire at one such unregistered institution, ostensibly referring to the Kampung Datuk Keramat tragedy in 2017 that killed 21 students and two teachers.
“There are tahfiz schools that operate in warehouses and shop lots. We want to ensure the safety of students and teachers, and facilitate Jais in providing assistance to these schools,” he said.
Fahmi said Jais has enhanced its services by establishing an integrated centre for data storage and sharing, ensuring effective delivery.
He said the data centre aligns with current developments in digital technology, especially in service delivery.
The upgraded Jais data centre cost RM1.3 million.
Meanwhile, Jais director Mohd Shahzihan Ahmad said the integrated centre focuses on 11 Jais branches, namely, the nine district religious offices, the Selangor Ummah Empowerment Institute, and Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque.
“(The centre houses data for) seven areas — education, dakwah, family law, mosques, enforcement, halal industry, and research and development,” he said in his speech.
Shahzihan noted that since 2020, Jais has developed 36 application systems, enabling the digital transformation of its service delivery.
