Six years after the tahfiz blaze in KL

Mohd Zahid Mahmood still remembers the day he received a phone call while waiting to perform the dawn prayer at his home in Kuala Lumpur. 

While he recognised the caller, he was taken aback to hear only sobs on the other end. 

"Ustaz, please come. The tahfiz is on fire," the caller eventually managed to say. 

"On fire?" Zahid repeated. "How bad is it?"

"Bad, ustaz," the caller replied. "Some of the students are trapped and they can't get out." 

Panicked, Zahid hurried to the site of the blaze, less than a km away from his house. He arrived to find a crowd of people gathered around, some calling family members and others contacting the fire and rescue department. 

The date was etched in his mind: Sept 14, 2017 – the day that the fire at Tahfiz Darul Ittifaqiyah centre claimed the lives of 21 students and two wardens. 

The blaze, which was covered by even international media outlets, was described as one of the worst in the past decades. 

Some three years later, on Aug 17, 2020, the Kuala Lumpur High Court sentenced a teenager to imprisonment for as long as the Agong permitted after finding him guilty of starting the fire. 

The school management and Zahid himself were heavily criticised, but today, nearly six years later, he said student admissions had remained strong. 

Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said many parents were already familiar with the name and reputation of the tahfiz centre before the tragedy occurred. 

"We had been there since 2000," he added. "We held many programmes and events. 

"Even national leaders and members of the royalty said that our students are disciplined and follow protocol." 

Today, the centre has about 30 students and two teachers who are also dormitory wardens.

The students go about their daily activities cheerfully and without a shadow of the tragic blaze. 

None of them are charged for their education or upkeep as they mostly come from urban poor families. 

Muhammad, whose son attends the centre, said the boy knew about the fire as he had been in primary school when it occurred. 

"But he still wanted to go," he said. "He's 14 now and he rarely complains about his studies to me or my wife.

Muhammad said he was worried at first, but remained confident in the record of the school and its teachers. 

"My wife and I were at peace sending our son there," he added. 

He acknowledged the court case brought against Zahid by the parents of students who had died in the blaze, but declined to comment as it is ongoing in court and he was not directly involved. 

"Whether the principal wins or not, the tahfiz centre will continue to run," he said. 

"Let the court decide the matter."