Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the issue involving 60 students from Pahang who were unable to continue their studies at Al-Azhar University has been resolved after discussions with Sheikh of Al-Azhar Prof Dr Ahmed el-Tayeb.
Anwar, who paid a courtesy call to Ahmed at Al-Azhar, explained that the problem occurred because the 60 students arrived to study at the university without following the required procedures, which resulted in them getting ‘stranded’ in Egypt.
“The standard procedure for admission to Al-Azhar University involves going through the embassy channels.
“However, this procedure was not followed and as a result, these 60 students found themselves in a difficult situation.
“However, I appealed their case, and Sheikh Al-Azhar agreed to address the issue surrounding these 60 Pahang students as soon as possible. The university’s rector also provided assurance.
“But I also gave my assurance to them (Sheikh Al-Azhar) that this won’t happen again, Insya Allah. I hope all states will adhere to the existing regulations since these requirements are set by the Egyptian government and Al-Azhar University,” he said.
He shared this information with Malaysian journalists at a media conference after concluding his two-day working visit to Egypt.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and Malaysia’s Ambassador to Egypt Zamani Ismail were also present during the conference.
Prior to that, Anwar paid a courtesy call to the Sheikh of Al-Azhar and was welcomed at Al-Azhar by the Deputy Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Prof Dr Muhammad Abdur-Rahman Al-Duwini.
Furthermore, Anwar mentioned that Sheikh Al-Azhar had agreed to visit Malaysia officially in the first quarter of next year.
“We will utilize this visit by organizing a regional Islamic conference so that we can benefit from his presence and ideas,” he said.
Anwar added that Malaysia, in collaboration with Al-Azhar, would take the initiative to organize the conference and would assign the Islamic Development Malaysia Department (Jakim) to coordinate it. – Bernama
