Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is disappointed that the fire incident involving a tahfiz school in Kedah almost three decades ago, has repeated itself in yesterday's tragedy. 

“I am sad that something like that has happened again,” he said yesterday, as reported by Sinar Harian.

He was referring to the incident on September 1989, where as many as 27 students died at the Madrasah Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah, also known as Pondok Pak Ya, at Padang Lumat, Yan, Kedah after a dormitory there burned down.

Mahathir had visited victims of the tragedy at the Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) and also spent about 45 minutes with the victims' families at the hospital’s Medical Forensics Institute.

Mahathir also said that buildings should be constructed according to set guidelines and protocols.

“If anything were to happen, then victims can save themselves.

“In this incident, I was made to understand there were only two doors,” he said.

Safety should be the utmost priority, he noted, adding that he hopes all schools will review their safety standards in the event of a fire after this incident.

Yesterday, a fire broke out at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school in Kuala Lumpur, about 5.15am in the morning.

As many as 21 students and two teachers, who were also wardens, were killed in the fire at the school in Jalan Keramat Hujung.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom said the earliest they can release the results of the victim identification will be 3.30pm today, as reported by The Star.

Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department director Khirudin Drahman also said that they are now investigating the possibility that yesterday’s fire was an act of mischief.

“The dogs sniffed out traces of chemicals around the area, which we have sent to our lab,” he reportedly said to Free Malaysia Today.

He added that if the fire was caused by “mischief” then it would be considered a crime, which falls under the police’s jurisdiction.