The Malaysian Insight

THERE is no satisfaction for the families of the victims of Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah Tahfiz Centre fire, although the suspects will be charged tomorrow.

For Mas Aliza, who lost three cousins to the fire, she only wants the weaknesses to be identified and the authorities to learn from the tragedy which took the lives of 21 students and two wardens.

“I hope they get the right punishments so that it will serve as a lesson to others. Parents need to pay more attention to their children’s activities too,” said Mas Aliza.

“They should also monitor the friends their children hang out with. I noticed that all the suspects were too young and this was really unexpected,” she added.

She was responding to news that the police will charge the suspects, who were detained after the fire on September 14, at the Kuala Lumpur High Court tomorrow.

According to Kuala Lumpur police chief Amar Singh, two of the suspects will be charged with murder while another six will be charged under the Dangerous Drugs Act.

On the same note, Burhan Abdul Manan said the government should tackle the drug problem in the Datuk Keramat area.

“If they have done wrong they need to receive the right punishment. But the government also needs to stamp out the drug problem as that is the real cause for the boys’ behaviour.

“People say that the suspects wouldn’t have been brave enough to set fire if they weren’t on drugs,” said Burhan, whose son Danial survived the fire but is currently undergoing therapy for trauma.

Besides the authorities, the local citizens of Datuk Keramat should also monitor their surroundings, said Hartini Abd Ghani.

“Everybody including the Education Ministry needs to tackle the issue of children not attending school. The local neighbourhood committees should be involved too.

“I will go to the court tomorrow to listen for myself. I want to see their faces,” said Hartini, who lost her 12-year-old son Nik Muhammad Ridzuan to the fire.

Early investigations by the Fire and Rescue Department showed that the tahfiz centre hostel was set on fire using petrol.

It was doused on the door, towel rack, shoe rack and wall of the hostel, said director-general of the department Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim.

Police said initial investigations revealed that the motive of the seven boys in allegedly starting the fire was a teasing match between them and the tahfiz students that had gotten out of hand. – September 27, 2017.