KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 -- Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called for Islamic religious education and moral‑values development to be strengthened within Malaysia's mainstream schooling system, stressing that both should not be treated as peripheral streams.

He said the party backs the creation of a National Tahfiz Council to coordinate and elevate Islamic and tahfiz education nationwide, adding that he will take the proposal to the Cabinet for approval.

"We support the proposal to establish a National Tahfiz Council, and I will bring this matter to the Cabinet for approval.

"Our goal is to produce Huffaz who are not only memorisers of the Quran, but also professionals, engineers, doctors, technocrats, entrepreneurs, ...