SEPANG – The Home Ministry’s enforcement and control division seized 14,249 copies of the Quran and reading materials which were not approved by the in the Klang Valley, Terengganu and Kelantan in the first two months of this year.
Division secretary Nik Yusaimi Yussof said the holy books were seized because the board’s stamp and ministry’s hologram were not found on the outer cover, and the writing did not follow the Uthmani script.
“Upon further checking we found there were mistakes here and there which we fear may affect the reading accuracy and could lead to confusion,” he told the media after a board meeting here today.
When asked which Quran application has been approved by the board, he said so far only one has been certified – namely Smart Quran which was developed by the Islamic Development Department in collaboration with the Communications and Multimedia Commission and the Home Ministry.
“The Smart Quran application is error-free as it was reviewed by the Quran Printing Control and Licensing Board and had gone through the product certification process, while other applications that are available have not gone through this process.
“We are not saying that other (Quran) applications are inaccurate, just that they have not gone through the review process.
So any party that has the expertise to develop digital Quran model is encouraged to seek the board’s approval to ensure that their app is authentic and accurate,” he said.
On the outcome of today’s meeting, he said among matters agreed upon was to revoke the licence of a printing company in Penang as it was no longer printing the holy books.
He said the meeting also approved four final proofs of the Quran text and with this addition, the total number of final proofs approved so far stands at 916.
“The final proof is important to ensure the Quran is perfectly preserved and read without mistakes,” he said adding that the number of Home Ministry-certified Quran is sufficient to meet local demand. – Bernama, March 10, 2023
