In the wake of recent sodomy allegations at a tahfiz school, Deputy Minister for Women, Family and Community Development Hannah Yeoh has called for greater vigilance, saying that no place should automatically be assumed to be safe for children.

"Never assume a place is safe for your kids just because they are placed under the care of relatives, schools or religious personalities," she said on Twitter today.

Yeoh said that this included churches, mosques, temples as well as private and public institutions.

"Parents must check (them all). Start educating your kids about safe or bad touching, and where to get help.

"I have met with several children who have been sodomised at another tahfiz centre, and all parties including religious councils, local authorities and parents must conduct periodic checks on the safety and welfare of the children," the Segambut MP said.

The deputy minister stressed, however, that her remarks on the safety of children did not mean she was criticising the institutions themselves, but that "it was time children's safety became the main agenda for all parties."

Yeoh's tweet came in the wake of allegations that up to nine students, aged between 11 and 16 years, were sexually abused and sodomised by the principal in a Kepong tahfiz school.

The 30-year-old suspect in the case has been arrested and is being investigated under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.

A teacher from the school had lodged a police report after being informed by the victims.

The victims were sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for further examination, and have since been taken home by their families.

Never assume a place is safe for your kids just because they are placed under the care of relatives, schools or religious personalities. Churches, mosques, temples, private/public institutions. Parents must check. Start educating your kids about safe/bad touch & where to get help

— Hannah Yeoh (@hannahyeoh) September 23, 2018

'Making tahfiz schools look bad'

Separately, de facto Islamic Affairs Minister Mujahid Yusuf Rawa said the government will not hesitate to permanently shut down any tahfiz schools whose headmasters or administrators are found guilty of sexually abusing students.

Sinar Harian quoted Mujahid as saying that this was because such heinous acts not only tarnish the reputation of tahfiz institutions as a whole, but also put Islam in a bad light.

"I have repeatedly stressed, do not abuse the good name of tahfiz institutions to commit an act forbidden by the religion. These kind of people should be taught a lesson, and stern action should be taken against them, along with the school.

“If that person is the headmaster, we will permanently shut down the school, because how can a person tasked to lead a tahfiz institution commit such a heinous act?” he stressed.

Mujahid added that the government is also currently in the process of integrating tahfiz centres into the mainstream school system.