IT appears to be an ordinary private school.

Perhaps the red shirts are a little unusual for a tahfiz school, which normally favours white for its students, but at a glance, once sees only schoolboys going about their daily school routine.

Stop and listen, however, and one will hear the mostly Malay boys speak Mandarin interspersed with the odd Arabic phrase.

Founded by Muhamad Ibrahim, known to his charges as Ustaz “Mad Cina”,  Mandarin Tahfiz Academy on Pulau Ketam is the only tahfiz school in Malaysia that teaches Quranic studies in Arabic and Mandarin. 

“I want the students to be able to communicate in other languages besides Arabic. It’s a strength to know Mandarin,” said Muhamad, who is thinking of starting a Tamil tahfiz school, too.

The school currently collects RM200 a month from the students. The rest comes from the public.

“We need around RM22,000 a month to sustain the school,” said Muhamad. 

To contribute, call Muhamad at 013-6919717. – June 7, 2017.