Nusajaya, 7 November 2009:- Sixty pre-school children from five kindergartens in Gelang Patah who underwent the Pintar Al-Quran Reading Program organized by UEM Land Berhad successfully read the entire Quran and were celebrated in a Khatam Al-Quran ceremony held today at the Grand Paragon Hotel, Johor Bahru.

The idea of an Al-Quran reading program for pre-schoolers was rooted in the belief that Al-Quran learning is the main element in the life of a Muslim. Educating the young to become Al-Quran literate as well as adopting the Al-Quran fundamental values in their daily life would spur a more spiritual next generation with positive values which would ultimately benefit the community.

The program is based on the Terengganu Pintar Al-Quran Education Program pioneered by the Terengganu Islamic Foundation (YIT). Targeted at pre-school children aged five and six years old, the program has proven to be effective through the adoption of innovative teaching methods as well as a comprehensive curriculum.
Apart from developing an ‘ulul albab’ (Al-Quran literate) society, the program is also aimed to build a strong spiritual foundation amongst the pre-school children prior to their entering the first stage of their education in the primary school through early exposure on the core Islamic values.

The program, which commenced in late June last year as a pilot program for five selected KEMAS kindergartens, is provided free to the students who stay on for an additional hour daily after the formal kindergarten hours for these reading classes. A total of 201 students are involved in this program. The initiative has proven to be fruitful with this first batch of 60 students who have successfully completed reading the Al-Quran. The other students in the program are at various stages of completing the Al-Quran.

The event was launched by the Menteri Besar of Johor, YAB Dato’ Abdul Ghani bin Othman. In his speech, Dato’ Abdul Ghani complimented UEM Land for embarking on a corporate responsibility policy which is founded on education and community development.

He said, “It is my hope that programs such as the Pintar Al-Quran will indirectly enhance human capital development so that the communities within and in the surrounds of Nusajaya will be able to participate in and benefit from the extensive development of Nusajaya”.

UEM Land Holdings Berhad Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, En Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim, said UEM Land would continue to look at ways in which it could play a meaningful role in education and community development for the Nusajaya community.

“For this purpose, we will work closely with the Nusajaya community and the various Government agencies to ensure that UEM Land’s role as the master developer of Nusajaya goes beyond just building infrastructure, but also focuses on instilling