THE families of those killed in the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz centre fire on September 14 will take legal action against the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (Maiwp) and school management for negligence, said a parent of one of the students who died.

Nur Azizan Abdul Razak, a 46 year-old father of three, lost his son, Mohd Taufiq Hidayat, 16, in the arson attack that left 23 people dead, including two teachers.

He said some of the families decided to appoint a legal representative to file a civil case against the school and Maiwp after they found discrepancies in the information that surfaced following the tragedy.

He said everyone seemed to be washing their hands of the school.

“Maiwp has denied owning the building or the school, despite having its name on the school signboard. They gave us another name, and they keep on passing the buck.”

The families also found out that the school registration system was not up to date.

“We found out that there were students who were not registered despite being taught there. A couple had sent their two children there, but only the elder one had his name in the registration, with the other boy not listed. Luckily, he is not dead,” said Nur Azizan.

He said there were many things that the families were not happy about, but did not give details.

“There are too many things to talk about. This is not about money. How are we going to improve things if we cannot engage the school administration in a healthy manner? We cannot even meet the principal.”

Nur Azizan and other parents of the fire victims were at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in Jalan Duta this morning to follow up on the arson case, which has been classified as murder.

He was not allowed to enter the courtroom for the proceedings, as the suspects charged with murder were underage.

Judge Siti Raziah Kamarudin set January 3 for next mention.

Five lawyers, including one holding a watching brief on behalf of the school, attended the court session.

Nur Azizan said up until today, the principal, Mohd Zahid Mahmood, had failed to meet the victims’ parents.

They had set September 30 for a meeting with Zahid, but the principal kept giving excuses.

“He sent two representatives, but they were unable to answer our questions. They kept saying they do not know, and will refer the matter to Zahid,” said Nur Azizan.

“As for the principal, he said he was busy. I called, but the calls were never picked up.

“He lost students. Parents lost their children. You can replace students. We can’t replace our children.”

He said Zahid should meet the victims’ families to share their grief.

“Come and talk, or at least listen to us. We have so many things to tell and share. This is only for the improvement of the school. We do not want the same thing to happen again.”

Hartini Abd Ghani, who lost her son, Nik Mohamed Ridzuan Nik Azalan,12, in the fire, declined to talk about the legal action.

“Who told you about it? Parents are simple. We are grieving. What we want is attention.

“The school should comfort us parents. It should communicate better. If he (Zahid) is busy, get someone else who is able to answer us and listen to us.”

She said Zahid’s previous statement on the parents was hurtful.

“He asked why the parents are asking about the school’s safety now, but never before. The school has been running for 16 years. It is like asking a boy aged 16 where his birth certificate is. My son died in their custody.”

She said she would not hesitate to sue those who labelled the parents as “greedy”.

“We are not greedy. This is not about money.”

On September 28, six youths, aged between 12 and 18, suspected to be behind the fire, were charged with the murder of 23 people.

Seven suspects were initially detained on September 16. – November 28, 2017.