MARA chairman hits back at critics of tahfiz placements in pilot training program, says tahfiz students, schools among best in country
KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — MARA chairman Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has launched a strong defence of the agency’s efforts to turn Tahfiz students into professionals – including pilots – after a wave of negative comments on social media belittling the initiative.
In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, Asyraf expressed his dismay over remarks left under a Malay Mail news post that questioned and ridiculed MARA’s push to elevate the status of Quran memorisers (huffaz) into high-skilled career fields.
“It pains me to see the negative comments on MalayMail’s Facebook section, trying to belittle and challenge MARA’s efforts to uplift Tahfiz students as professionals, including pilots,” he said.
“What do they think – that these Tahfiz students are mediocre?”
To back his argument, Dr. Asyraf pointed to the recently released SPM 2025 results, which he said demonstrate the academic excellence of students from MARA’s own huffaz programmes.
“Eight MRSM Ulul-Albab schools – where all students memorise 30 juz of the Al-Quran – were ranked among the top 20 best schools in Malaysia,” he revealed.
He added that 221 Huffaz MRSM students scored straight A’s in all their SPM subjects, including Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Additional Mathematics.
“Say what you will,” Asyraf declared. “As long as I am MARA chairman, efforts to uplift the agenda of professionalising the huffaz will continue to be strengthened.”
MARA, or Majlis Amanah Rakyat, has in recent years expanded its scholarship and training programmes to include Tahfiz students in fields such as aviation, medicine and engineering – a move that has drawn both praise and scepticism from the public.
The chairman’s remarks signal that the agency will not back down from its policy, and that the latest SPM data, in his view, firmly validates the academic calibre of memorisation-track students.
