Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will close down the tahfiz centre in Kepong which was found to be unregistered, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad said today.

Khalid said the move was to ensure the safety and welfare of students as well as to preserve the image of the Islamic religious institutions.

“We do not want any tahfiz centres to be given exemption just because they are religious institutions, they must still register with DBKL and the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi).”

“We will also come up with stricter rules for boarding schools especially tahfiz schools,” Khalid told reporters after opening the Federal Territory Strata Community Mediation Centre (PMKS WPKL) in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said it was the responsibility of parents to check the status of tahfiz centres if they plan to enrol their children in the institution.

“DBKL will also be working with Jawi to monitor all tahfiz centres that are still operating in the capital.

“If found unregistered, we will not hesitate to take action,” he said.

Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister's DepartmentDr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said that they were powerless to close down illegal tahfiz centres in Kuala Lumpur as they were under the jurisdiction of DBKL.

This comes in the wake of the arrest of a tahfiz centre principal in Kepong for allegedly sodomising nine students, aged 11 to 16 years. The centre was found to be operating illegally.

Meanwhile, Khalid said PMKS WPKL will act as a local mechanism in solving problems or disputes among occupants of strata residential properties if it involves matters outside the parameters of the Strata Management Act 2013 (Act 757).

“Examples of neighbourhood strata problems, such as noise and odour, boundaries, parking lots, garbage disposal will be managed with the help of mediators.

“Nineteen community mediators from the National Unity and Integration Department will handle strata cases brought to PMKS,” he said.

He said PMKS will start operating next month for three days, namely Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 5pm at Menara PT80 in Kuala Lumpur.

- Bernama