Md Nur’ Alim bin Abdullah Nordin from Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Arabic School clinched the top spot in the male category, while Alya Fathiyyah binti Abdul Rajid from Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha Girls Arabic Religious Secondary School was placed first in the female category at the finals of the 38th Al-Quran Reading Competition for Secondary Schools and Colleges Nationwide for 1444 Hijrah/2023.
Md Fauzan Syahraimi bin Haji Md Aslenan from Sayyidina Hussein secondary School came in second, while Awangku Luqman ‘Amri Al-Hakeem bin Pengiran Asmali @ Pengiran Ali Shafie from St Andrews School came in third in the male category.
In the female category, Majdah Al-Zahraa binti Zawawi from Institut Tahfiz Al-Quran Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah was the first runner-up and Rindiani binti Rosli from Menglait Secondary School was placed third.
The finals took place at the Information Department hall, the Old Airport in Berakas yesterday.
Acting Director of Co-Curriculum Education at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Julaihi bin Mohamad/Mohamat was the guest of honour.
Nineteen male and 10 female participants competed in the qualifying stage with four participants with the highest scores from each category competing in the final stage.
The competition had stages – the qualifying and final – and was conducted in a hybrid manner, where participants sent videos of their recitation performance online to be judged for the qualifying round, while the final was conducted face-to-face.
The competition aimed to produce a generation that is Al-Quran literate and increase the number of Qari and Qariah among secondary school and college students in the Sultanate.
The competition also aimed to improve the quality of the students’ recitation of Al-Quran and to encourage more to participate in religious activities in an effort to support the aspiration of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam to transform Brunei Darussalam into a Zikir nation (remembrance of Allah the Almighty).
The MoE, through the Spiritual Activity Division at the Co-Curriculum Education Department of Co-Curriculum, organised the event. – Azlan Othman
