Tragedy befalling Johor student won’t happen here – Ariffin

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Mazalan (left) presenting a souvenir to Ariffin.

KOTA KINABALU: Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Ariffin Arif assured Sabahans that the tragedy which befell a student of a tahfiz school in Johor Bahru would not happen in Sabah.

Ariffin assured the public that the dorm wardens of the various schools in the state will be monitored closely by the relevant authorities to prevent any convicts or criminals from being appointed as wardens as what had happened in the school in Johor Bahru.

“We have about 40 tahfiz schools that have been registered. Apart from that, we have more than 200 Sekolah Agama Rakyat and 142 Sekolah Agama Negeri.

“All these schools are being monitored and we always ensure that its teachings are in line with the methods required by the State Islamic Religious Department, state government and other relevant bodies.

“On top of that, we will also be looking at the activities being conducted in these schools,” he said.

Ariffin further explained that most of the Muslim-oriented schools in Sabah do not have wardens as they do not have dorms.

“Wardens are usually placed in dorms. In Sabah, we are more inclined towards day schools. For example, our Sekolah Agama Negeri.

“However, we do have a few schools that do have dorms here,” he added.

On Wednesday, the nation was shocked by the death of Mohamed Thaqif Amin Mohd Gaddafi, who succumbed to injuries which he had suffered due to the alleged beatings of an assistant warden, who is currently under police remand.

Thaqif was hospitalised on April 19 after he had sustained injuries to his legs which had to be amputated due to infection.

The 11-year-old’s right hand was also later found to be infected due to blood clots and was scheduled to be amputated before he passed away.

Ariffin was speaking to the media during the national level Sufi Menurut Pendekatan Wasatiyyah Seminar at Wisma Muis here yesterday.

He said the seminar was aimed to promote the teachings of Tasawuf, which focus on the practice of good moral values.

To this end, he cautioned the public not to be fooled by religious teachers who misinterpret the teachings of Tasawuf and spread false teachings.

Ariffin went on to assure the public that most of these false religious groups have been identified and dealt with accordingly.

Also present in the event was dakwah (preaching) director of the Islamic Development Department (JAKIM), Mazlan Abdullah.