50 per cent of tahfiz centres in Malaysia unsafe

Fifty per cent of the 956 tahfiz (Islamic religious) centres inspected by the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) throughout the country since last month are found not safe, said its director-general Datuk Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim on Sunday.

He said the premises occupied by the centres concerned had to be improved, including installed with fire safety equipment.

"The most common offence is not having fire safety equipment and from inspections conducted, 291 notices have been issued until last Oct 13.

"Another common mistake is the buildings have not enough exit or fire escape," he told the media after launching the department's fire safety campaign and exhibition at the lobby of Berjaya Megamall here.

He said operators of the tahfiz centres concerned had been given time to improve the safety condition of their premises , failing which legal action could be taken against them.

Wan Mohd Nor said operators of tahfiz centres should also install their premises with fire warning equipment, such as fire alarm system or smoke detector as a safety precaution.

"We are now compiling the relevant data to be tabled to the government," he said.

--BERNAMA