The religious school at the center of a deadly fire on September 14th is accused of hoarding donations given by the public by the mothers of the deceased.
The mothers spoke to Free Malaysia Today on the condition of anonymity, telling the paper that the headmaster has been avoiding calls from family members of the deceased students regarding if they will ever receive any of the money.
On September 22, one week after a fire tore through Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah, headmaster Muhammad Zahid Mahmood told the parents that the donations would be divided between the school and families. The school would keep 70%, and the remaining 30% would be distributed among the relatives of the deceased and students who survived.
“We haven’t received a single sen,” said one mother.
Zahid is accused of avoiding the angry parents, sending a representative instead of coming himself last Saturday night. According to one mother, he gave them the rather flimsy excuse of meeting with the fire department.
“What’s he doing meeting with the fire department at night,” she asked.
Other mothers have come forward to accuse the school of routinely keeping donations given to the school during holiday periods. Notable figures that included the Prime Minister only saw the loose change of their gifts trickle down to the students, with the school keeping the rest for “safe keeping.”
Appallingly, news that the school had not told the parents about the fire has emerged. Parents have spoken out, admitting that the alert was raised hours later by another parent on a school WhatsApp group chat, that included the headmaster.
Within a week of the fire, the school collected over RM1 million (US$240,000). The school then said that it would cease the accepting of donations. As of yesterday, the collection box was still clearly visible outside of the school, with a man asking for donations standing next to it.
Zahid could not be reached for comment.
