BN committed in supporting Islam - PM Najib

Although much has been said about the position of Islam in the country, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Barisan Nasional (BN) government remains committed in supporting Islam in line with the Federal Constitution.

The Prime Minister said this was in line with Article 3 of the Federal Constitution which clearly stated that Islam is the religion of the Federation but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony.

He said if we were to delve deeper and look at it in totality the government had done a lot to ensure Islam continued to grow and the Muslims in the country are protected.

"For example, in Budget 2017, I announced an allocation of RM50 million for government-aided religious schools and RM50 million for registered 'pondok' Islamic religious schools.

"For the first time too, the government allocated RM30 million to synchronise tahfiz education through the National Tahfiz Education Policy. This is an important step in determining that Tahfiz al-Quran institutions continued to flourish and grow," he said in his latest blog post titled "Islam Under the Barisan Nasional".

Najib said the BN-led federal government realised that Quran and Tahfiz Al-Quran education were significant ingredients in preserving Islam, especially in generating Islamic scholars to counter accusations and slander made by extremists against Islam.

"This is also one of the measures taken by the government to curb the spread of extremism in Malaysia.

"(And) this is in line with my vision to develop holistic human resources who are not only academically inclined but are also capable in various aspects including having strong resilience and faith as required in Islam," said the Prime Minister.

In addition, Najib said the welfare of 'imam', 'bilal' and 'siak' groups were also protected as under the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) 15,000 imams nationwide received monthly allowance of RM850 from RM750 previously, 16,000 'siaks' received one-off payment of RM500 while the allowance of religious school teachers involving 33,000 people, was raised to RM900 from RM800 a month.

"God willing, protecting the welfare of those involved in Islamic religious study will be the main agenda of the government in elevating the Islamic religion," he said.