Quran to serve as guide for govt policies, actions - Najib

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today the Quran will serve as the guide for all government policies and actions because this ensures well-being.

The Quran served as a guide for the community to experience a well-regulated life and it had lifted man from an era of darkness and backwardness to an era of excellence, he said.

"With a life pivoted on the Quran, man will live in peace, tranquility and guaranteed security," he said after performing the ground-breaking for the Nasyrul Quran Complex and launching the Tabung Dana Wakaf Kertas endowment fund here.

Najib said the construction of the complex in the federal government administrative centre clearly reflected the manifestation of the government in promoting and enhancing the eminence of Islam.

"It is most appropriate that the centre is located in Putrajaya, the administrative centre. Adjacent to this centre will emerge the largest Quran printing facility in the world. This is the government's commitment to

elevating Islam," he said.

Najib said that when the RM60-million complex was fully operational, it would become the symbol of grandeur and pride of the Muslim community, especially in Malaysia.

The Nasyrul Quran Complex would also encompass Southeast Asia's leading integrated Quran printing facility with the capacity to become the second largest Quran production centre in the world, as announced by Najib, who is also finance minister, when tabling the 2015 national budget last October.

The whole project is expected to be completed in 18 months, with construction divided into two phases.

The complex is expected to print one million copies of the Quran annually, with 70 per cent meeting the domestic need and 30 per cent, the need of Muslim minorities abroad.

Meanwhile, the Tabung Dana Wakaf Kertas endowment fund is aimed at accumulating funds to purchase printing paper at an estimated cost of RM5 million annually to meet the demand for printing the Quran.

At the event, Najib witnessed the handing over of RM25 million by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) to 116 'pondok' religious schools registered with the state Islamic religious affairs departments and state Islamic religious councils.