Govt Exploring Sijil Turath Malaysia Implementation Next Year - Zulkifli

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 13 (Bernama) -- The government is exploring the implementation of the Sijil Turath Malaysia, expected to be introduced next year, to give official recognition to pondok and turath students and open pathways for them to pursue university studies and build careers.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan said the move follows Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's announcement when tabling Budget 2027, which also includes the establishment of the Malaysian Pondok and Turath Advisory Council.

"This certificate is generally the government's effort to see how pondok and turath institutions are recognised, and it can serve as a qualification enabling students to enter university and build their careers.

"So we want to see how best to develop this Sijil Turath Malaysia. Just as we have the Sijil Tahfiz Malaysia, we will now have the Sijil Turath Malaysia, Insya-Allah (God willing)," he told reporters after opening the International Sama’ Jami’ al-Tirmizi and al-Syamail al-Muhammadiyyah 2026 event here tonight.

The 11-day event, which runs from today until Nov 23, gathers international Islamic scholars and local intellectuals, with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim scheduled to attend the closing ceremony.

Elaborating on the certificate, Zulkifli said it is intended for local pondok and turath institutions, as well as any institution wishing to adopt the syllabus recognised under the Sijil Turath Malaysia, on par with the current implementation of the Sijil Tahfiz Malaysia.

Earlier, in his opening speech, Zulkifli said the initiative is part of the government's efforts to build a more structured and systematic Islamic scholarly ecosystem, in line with the Budget 2027 announcement to establish the Malaysian Pondok and Turath Advisory Council.

He said the government wants pondok and turath institutions to continue preserving the authenticity of their learning traditions, the strength of the ‘talaqqi’ method, the teacher-student bond and mastery of classical Islamic texts (kitab turath), which form part of Islamic scholarly heritage.

"This effort also paves the way for educational recognition, infrastructure development, and mastery of digital skills and artificial intelligence (AI), while opening up future opportunities for students," he said.

In a related development, he said religious affairs agencies have agreed to continue the project to publish an updated translation of Sahih al-Bukhari, involving improvements to translation accuracy, spelling, terminology and technical layout across all eight volumes.

"This publication is not merely a reprint, but also includes a digital format through the MyHadis portal alongside physical copies for official distribution," he said.

-- BERNAMA