Quran production plant up and running

PUTRAJAYA: The world’s second-largest Quran production centre has begun operations here.

The Nasyrul Quran Complex at Precinct 14 is the second biggest after the King Fahd Complex in Madinah.

Nasyrul Quran Complex, which was built at a cost of RM60mil, was opened by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday.

The complex also has exhibition galleries, skills training spaces, meeting rooms, surau, cafeteria, viewing gallery of the printing process, and administration and management offices.

Dr Ahmad Zahid said Nasyrul Quran was built not to compete with other Quran-printing countries, but it was Malaysia’s contribution to upholding and propagating the teachings of the Islamic holy book to the world.

“We respect the biggest (Quran) printing centre in Madinah. But as a nation that subscribes to the principles of wasatiyyah (moderation), Malaysia too wants to contribute to the effort through its own bound volumes of the Quran,” he said in his speech during the launch of the national-level Wakaf Al-Quran 2017 and the operations of Nasyrul Quran.

Dr Ahmad Zahid said the complex’s operations would be able to meet the domestic and global need for copies of the Quran as the Muslim population was expected to reach three billion out of the world’s total of nine billion by 2050.

International standards: Abdul Latif showing Dr Ahmad Zahid the printed edition of the Quran at the complex in Putrajaya. Looking on (from left) are Jamil Khir, Alwi Ibrahim, Tengku Adnan and Dr Asyraf Wajdi. 

He said that a small percentage of the Muslim population might not be able to buy a copy of the Quran, and so Nasyrul Quran could play a role by endowing the holy book to the needy.

The centre will be able to print at least one million copies of the Quran a year, said Dr Ahmad Zahid.

From the one million copies that will be produced, 70% will be for domestic use while the rest would be given away as wakaf (endowment) to Muslim minorities in other countries, he added.

Also present were Federal Terri­tories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, Restu Foundation chairman Datuk Abdul Latif Mirasa, and deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi and Home ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Alwi Ibrahim.