KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is set to become the second biggest printer of the Quran for Asia in a move to ensure the integrity and accuracy of its publication.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who announced this, said that as a modern and progressive Muslim nation, Malaysia was ready to emulate the work of the Raja Fahd Quran Printing Complex in Medina, Saudi Arabia, where there was an integrated effort to print the Quran for Muslims.
“I am confident that the time has come for us to print the Quran and become the second largest printer for the region after the Saudis,” he said when launching the Pusat Percetakan Al-Quran Mushaf Malaysia at Percetakan National Malaysia Berhad (PNMB) yesterday.
Although the act of printing a book is a straightforward procedure, the printing of the Quran was the opposite.
“Proper care and a high degree of expertise is required.
“This is very important to avoid misprints as it must be remembered that the Quran contains holy scriptures whose originality is guaranteed,” he added.
He commended the Yayasan Restu’s effort to produce the Quran over the last 20 years which had seen over 700,000 Quran printed for both Malaysians and Muslims worldwide.
The centre is a joint collaboration between PNMB and Yayasan Restu where the entire process of printing the Quran will be carried out by an all-Muslim staff.
Najib also announced a one-off RM1,000 bonus for PNMB staff as a token of appreciation of the effort in preparing the print materials for the recent general election.
Also present at the event were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and Second Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan.
