At Madani govt event, Muslims get a chance to exchange their old Quran for new, Putrajaya-approved copies

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 — The Home Ministry’s booth at the Madani government’s second anniversary event here offers Malaysians a chance to exchange their old Quran for a new one.

An officer on duty who wanted to remain unnamed said any old or damaged versions of the Muslim holy book can be sent in.

“Not just that, also those with no stamps of the Home Ministry can be traded in,” he told Malay Mail.

According to the officer, more than 30 Quran have been exchanged as of 4.15pm.

A visitor who exchanged at the booth said it was a perfect chance to get a new Quran for daily use.

“We traded in our old and damaged ones because they were missing pages,” said 60-year-old Datuk Dr Roslan Hussin.

“We read the Quran daily and we are scared. We do not want to read without the missing pages.”

Roslan said he and his wife exchanged four copies of Quran today.

Datuk Dr Roslan Husin (left) was among those who exchanged their old copies of Quran. November 23. 2024. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

Called “Jom Exchange Al-Quran”, the ministry said the Quran provided are approved by the Malaysian authorities, and have been screened by Muslim scholars.

In Malaysia, the Home Ministry is responsible for controlling the sale, distribution, and publication of the Quran. The printing of Quran, even as little as a verse, requires a permit from Quran Printing Control and Licensing Board, under the Printing of Quranic Texts Act 1986.

The ministry’s Enforcement and Control Department’s secretary Nik Yusaimi Yussof was quoted in a Harian Metro report today saying most Qurans returned were those that are unauthorised.

Nik Yusaimi said in order to be authorised, a Quran must follow the Uthmani guidelines — which are rules and conventions established during the compilation and standardisation of the Quranic text under the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan.

“Among the common mistakes detected during the review were incomplete verses, errors in dots and diacritical marks, unclear names of chapters and sections, missing verse numbers, and dirty pages,” he reportedly said.

This initiative is part of the three-day event celebrating Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Madani Government, which is set to mark its two-year milestone.

The event is to showcase the government’s achievements and vision for the future, along with the 2024 National Public Service Reform Convention.

Located at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (KLCC), the event started yesterday and will end tomorrow.