Bandar Seri Begawan - Officers and staff of the Ministry of Education have been urged to learn to read the al-Quran well.
Speaking at the Musabagah Tilawah al-Quran for the ministry, Education Deputy Minister Pg Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohammad Pg Hj Abd Rahmansaid Syumul or all-rounder education includes the al-Quran.
"In order to produce educated individuals, it is important to show a good example to the younger generation," he added.
Commenting that participation for the competition was small despite the fact that the Ministry of Education has a large population, the deputy minister expressed hope that the number of participants would increased in the future. However he said he was pleased to note that there have been a large number of teachers participating in the recitation of the al-Quran, especially in the tadarus ceremonies during the holy month of Ramadhan.
Organised by the Department of Estate Planning and Management (JPPE), the Musabaqah Tilawah al-Quran held in conjunction with the 17th Teachers Day celebrations. The competition began with its preliminary round on the November 1, 2007.
The initial number of contestants, eight male qari and five female qariah, were whittled down to four male and four female participants for the final round yesterday.
The champion qari was a religious teacher from the Business School, Shaiful Bahri Hj Ahmad, while the top qariah was a clerk from the Administration and Services Department, Hjh Noorhayati Hj Abd Hamid.
They each won a trophy and a return ticket to Kuala Lumpur as well as representing the Education Ministry at the al-Quran recitation competition among ministries to be held at a later date. Also present were the permanent secretary, deputy permanent secretaries, and heads of department and senior officers of the ministry.
Source: www.brudirect.com (10 November 2007)
