PERMISSION to reopen all registered private tahfiz and institutions is in the final decision process, pending discussions with the Islamic Development Malaysia Department (Jakim), according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri.

“The reopening of private tahfiz schools and institutions will be discussed by the National Security Council and will be finalised with input from Jakim and state governments.

“Insya-Allah we will assess (the situation) soon after due consideration, as we have to take into account the recommendations of the Health Ministry, NSC and state governments,” he said in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said this after visiting SM Integrasi Sains Tahfiz and SM Agama Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan to monitor the reopening of the schools and the teaching and learning process.

Zulkifli said to prevent the emergence of another Covid-19 cluster in tahfiz schools, it was important to study every aspect before allowing them to resume operations.

As of yesterday, the number of positive Covid-19 cases detected among tahfiz and madrasah students, teachers and staff members stood at 19,788 of 23,946 individuals screened.

Meanwhile, Zulkifli said he was satisfied with the level of compliance to standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Education Ministry at both schools he visited today.

“For me, this is an achievement that shows we can live in the new normal and take steps in a situation where, other countries are still struggling with Covid-19, but we have started to open our schools in stages.” – Bernama, June 25, 2020.