Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali visited the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school in Kuala Lumpur this morning, where a fire claimed the lives of 21 children.

Speaking to those at the scene, the wife of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad fought back tears as she expressed frustration over the lack of responsibility for the pre-dawn blaze.

"What I'm angry at, is that those responsible are getting away saying this is God's will.

"(They say) these children died as martyrs...But this is not the way.

"Take pity on the parents... The parents won't get their children back," she said, wiping away tears.

The school was ravaged by a fire in the early hours of Thursday, killing 21 students and two wardens at the school located on Jalan Keramat Hujung.

The school did not have permission to hold classes from the building, which did not have a fire safety permit and occupation certificate.

The school's headmaster Muhammad Zahid Mahmod had said the students died as martyrs as they had sacrificed being away from their families to study religion.

Siti Hasmah said it was sinful to shirk responsibility and to leave it all to God.

"We say that the good comes from God, and the bad is our own responsibility. But now they are saying bad things are God's will, trying to shirk from our responsibility," she said.

She hoped investigations into the tragic fire would be thorough, and serve as a reminder to other schools.

She also insisted that there be safety drills to ensure the children's safety.