Some 2,000 Muslim scholars have urged the government to restore the financial assistance provided to Sekolah Agama Rakyat (public religious schools or SAR).

This was among the resolutions unanimously passed during a seminar jointly organised by the Malaysian Islamic Scholars Association (PUM) and the Kedah government last Saturday.

Organising director Azmi Abdul Hamid said the resolution also urged the government to take appropriate steps to improve the administration of these schools.

"This is to ensure the continuity of an education system that produces Islamic scholars through the government's assistance as well as donations from the public," he said when contacted today.

"The Muslim community must continue to support Islamic scholars to keep the Islamic education system alive in this country."

Privately-run SAR became a national controversy when the government announced its intention to stop an annual grant ranging from RM60 to RM150 per student to the schools, thereby threatening the existence of schools which were reliant o­n the money.

The government adopted this hardline approach following Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claim that the students were taught to hate the government - a charge refuted by the schools.

There are more than 260 SARs in the country involving 74,000 students in both primary and secondary levels. Since the government's intervention, 15,000 students have transferred to study at national schools.

Stern action

Azmi said that there must also be continued financial efforts by society to encourage Islamic scholars to conduct religious duties independently.

"The participants have recommended that the al-Quran and As-Sunnah be the foundation and the basis of the country's policies," he said.

In view of this, he said, the scholars urged the government to abolish industries which were forbidden by Islam such as gambling and the sale of liquor.

According to him, the seminar - which was held at the state government building Wisma Darulaman - had been well supported.

Asked how the Kedah government had become involved in its organisation, he said: "Three days before the event, we were called by the state government which offered to co-operate in organising the event.

"They also wanted some changes to be made to the initial programme which we gladly obliged. This included the insertion of panelists to represent their working papers."

'No hidden agenda'

However, he conceded that certain quarters were cynical about the organiser's sincerity since some of the panelists have links to political parties.

"This is not a party programme. We don't have any hidden agenda...it was purely for the good of the Muslim society," he said.

In fact, he said it was the Kedah Sultan who proposed that the event be held at Wisma Darulaman and officiated at the opening ceremony.

Malaysiakini

had recently reported that the seminar had caused disquiet among Umno leaders in the state, as PUM is seen as an organisation aligned to opposition party PAS.