Sarawak mulls state’s first Islamic international school

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Abang Johari (fourth right) and Aziz (third left) performing the ground-breaking at the Hikmah Headquarters Complex and Tahfiz School Building construction site in Petra Jaya. – Photo by Chimon Upon.

KUCHING (Oct 7): Sarawak is looking to establish its first ever Islamic international school by conducting an extensive study with Singapore’s Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah, said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

According to him, it is high time that the state has an Islamic international school because many renowned international universities now recognise the syllabus of Islamic schools or madrasahs, such as Singapore’s Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah.

“Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah produces good students and we want students from the first ever international madrasah (in Sarawak) to be good as well.

“That is why we want to focus on not only Middle Eastern universities but also universities in the United States of America (USA) and Europe too,” he told reporters after performing the ground-breaking for the Hikmah Headquarters Complex and Tahfiz School Building in Petra Jaya here today.

Earlier in his speech at the ceremony, Abang Johari said that the collaboration with Singapore’s Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah would provide space for younger generations to continue their studies at the international level.

“We can send them to universities not only in the country but out of Malaysia that are of international standards.

“We do this because we want our Sarawakian Islamic scholars to not only be ‘jaguh kampung’ (village champions) but also a ‘jaguh dunia’ (world champions) for the future,” he said.

Also present during the ceremony were Deputy Minister for Energy and Environmental Sustainability Dr Hazland Abang Hipni, State Legislative Assembly Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, Hikmah Sarawak chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain and other officials.