DPM: BOOST TAHFIZ STUDENTS’ SAFETY
Students should not be packed like sardines into a vehicle, says Zahid
MAAHAD tahfiz or religious schools are urged to boost student safety. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said students should not be packed like sardines into a vehicle.
This follows the horrific accident in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, on Thursday which killed seven students from Pusat Tahfiz Al-Hashimi Kampung Tualang.
“True, we must always leave it to God and accept the tragedy as fate, but we must also take enough safety precautions.
“It could be that the driver was sleepy or that there were insufficient preventive measures.
“Religious schools must make student safety a priority as parents have entrusted their kids to them.
“The same goes with fire incidents. We found that some schools did not have fire safety certificates.
“There were also many other cases often reported in religious schools, such as hysteria.
“These will create a negative perception and give the religion a bad image.
“We must boost the image of Islam,” he said, handing Islamic Economic Development Foundation (Yapeim) contribution to selected Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) students from 12 districts in Perak in Selekoh here yesterday.
Zahid also broke fast with 5,000 people, including students and orphans, and later performed prayers at Masjid AlKhairiah.
Yapeim contributed RM3.7 million to UPSR and SPM students under its Inspirasi programme this year.
The foundation aims at boosting education among the underperforming schools.
Earlier, Datuk Kassim Elias gave a religious talk.
It was reported that the tahfiz students were on their way to a Ramadan Tadarus programme at Sultan Muhammad IV stadium in Kota Baru when their van skidded and rammed into a house in Kampung Telekong at 9.30am.
Firemen from Kuala Krai station were dispatched after receiving an emergency call at 9.42am and reached the scene at 10.20am.