Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar said he has instructed the Fire and Rescue Department to conduct checks on tahfiz schools to ensure that they abide by safety guidelines.

"I have ordered the fire department to check tahfiz schools to make sure they are following safety guidelines as stated in the Fire Services Act," Noh said in a Facebook post today.

This comes after a fire razed the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school in the early morning yesterday, claiming the lives of 21 children and two wardens.

Noh had previously said that the school did not have a valid permit from the Fire Department, though it was in the process of applying for one...