RESIDENTS of Taman Bandar Senawang in Seremban were shocked after a pile of Qurans believed to have been burned was discovered beside a football field on Saturday, prompting a police investigation.
Surau Al-Insaniah Taman Bandar Senawang treasurer Mohd Syafali Izwan Gamal Nasir said he was alerted to the discovery at about 8.40am after being informed by a neighbour.
"At the time, I was exercising at the recreational park while my neighbour had taken his child there to play football.
"Suddenly, I saw in the neighbourhood WhatsApp group that he had shared pictures of burned Qurans not far from there, so I immediately rushed to the site," he told Sinar Harian on Sunday.
He said the Qurans appeared to have been burned recently, as traces of soot and remnants of pages, including visible writing, could still be seen.
The residents subsequently contacted police, who arrived at the scene to conduct an investigation.
Mohd Syafali also said two large Qurans commonly used by the surau's imam had gone missing several days earlier.
"We noticed that the Qurans were missing during Maghrib prayers last Wednesday.
"We checked the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras around the surau and madrasah, but we could not see who had taken them," he said.
Asked whether the burned Qurans could be the copies that went missing from the surau, he said there appeared to be similarities in the writing on the surviving pages.
He added that several other Qurans of different sizes also appeared to have been taken from other locations.
"So, I believe these Qurans were taken from several places before being burned there. I was informed that a mosque here had also reported missing Qurans," he said.
Meanwhile, Negeri Sembilan police chief Datuk Alzafny Ahmad said the forensic team from the Negeri Sembilan Police Contingent Headquarters had conducted an examination at the scene.
He said a sample of the burned Quran remains had been collected and would be sent to the Forensic Department for analysis.
"The disposal of the burned Quran remains will be handled by the Negeri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs Department.
"The public are advised not to make any speculation about the incident until the investigation has been completed," he said.
Police have urged the public to refrain from speculation while investigations into the incident are ongoing. - August 23, 2026
