BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

SEVERAL students of religious schools fail to constantly perform Subuh, Maghrib and Isya' prayers, an official from the Inspectorate Section at the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) said yesterday.

Hj Khalidun Hj Md Salleh, interviewed by The Brunei Times on the sidelines of the closing ceremony of Prayer Workshop organised by MoRA, said it was disappointing to see some of the students’ “Daily Prayers and Friday Prayers Record Book” (Buku Catitan Sembahyang Fardhu Lima Waktu dan Sembahyang Fardhu Jumaat), as many of them only performed Zohor and _Asar _prayers . “Usually students only ticked on _Zohor _and _Asar _prayers as they were constantly observed by teachers at school during these two _fardhu _prayers, “ he said.

“We want the students to constantly practise prayers five times daily, so that when they finish religious school, it will become part of their daily activities,” he said.

He went on to say that during parents meeting, teachers would usually mention this issue to parents, however, it has become a very sensitive issue as it could be interpreted as an indirect criticisms on the parents.

“As religious educators, we teach and encourage the students to practise religious activities such as praying, Al-Quran reading and so on. But parents also play a very important role in showing religious values to their children,” he stressed.

Hj Khalidun said even though students nowadays are not constantly performing prayers, they were actually being honest to themselves and to others.

“It’s such a relief to know students nowadays are being honest and willing to face any consequences for their actions but praying five times a day is compulsory and important in Islam, thus as religious educators we want them to also give emphasis on their prayer performances.

“Some students would say they are not capable to perform prayers due to unhealthy conditions, shortage of knowledge or family problems. These can be solved if they let the educators help them,” said Hj Khalidun.

Another interview with one of the officials, who requested anonymity, under the Department of Islamic Studies (JPI), he said that most of the religious schools were no longer using the record books due to lack of supply from the Amali & Curriculum section of JPI.

“We were told that JPI is still in progress to create a new record book. Many religious schools are still waiting for the supply of the record book, but it’s been more than 10 years since we waited for the supply, ” he said.

Students have been using the record book since the 1980s.

The Brunei Times