He said the closure of these schools would be more effective than government leaders, including Prime Minister Najib Razak, expressing sympathy and condolences.
“The number of tahfiz schools has mushroomed lately and they impact negatively on Malay children in the country. Many children are no longer enrolled for formal education that would guarantee them a brighter future,” Zainuddin, who is popularly known as Zam, wrote in his blog.
“This development is happening because of parents’ narrow understanding of the religion. They are convinced that if their children become a ‘hafiz’ (person who has memorised the Quran), then they can escape (going to) hell, especially those parents who have sinned greatly.”
Zam said the tragedy that befell Thaqif should be an opportunity for the government to act “speedily and firmly” to review the existence of religious and tahfiz schools, whether private or government-aided.
Yesterday, the nation was shocked by news of the death of 11-year-old Thaqif whose legs were amputated at the Hospital Sultan Ismail in Johor Bahru, where he had been admitted last week with critical injuries allegedly caused by repeated beatings.
The boy fell into a coma. Doctors treated him for blood clots in a shoulder and he also underwent dialysis because of failing kidneys. He was being prepared for surgery to amputate an infected right forearm when he died.
An assistant warden at the school in Kota Tinggi, Johor, has been arrested and remanded for investigation into the case.
Zam also took to task Abd Mutalip Abd Rahim, the Johor state executive councillor responsible for Islamic religious affairs, who reportedly described the beating of students at tahfiz schools as a normal practice.
Mutalip also said he was told Thaqif possibly suffered from an existing illness which had caused the injuries on his legs from the beatings to turn critical.
Zam slammed Mutalip’s remark as a reflection of his medieval mindset.
“What happened at the tahfiz school had not been given due attention all this while by the state’s religious agencies, likely because they shared Mutalip’s view that caning practised by tahfiz schools was normal in order to teach and discipline the students,” he said.
Zam said private religious educational centres were burdened by the problem of teachers who were not learned and who had merely received religious education.
According to him, tahfiz schools are financially lucrative to those who start them.
“Religious departments in the country do not pay close attention to them or monitor their development properly because of their religious sentiments. After this case, religious departments cannot just wash their hands or avoid their responsibility.
“Although this tragedy has shamed our nation, placing us on par with Arab countries that are backward, conservative and practise a medieval system, it has also exposed the shortcomings in tahfiz teaching, and this requires firm action by the government,” he said.