The 2017 Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah madrasa fire, which occurred at around 5:10 am on 14 September 2017, where a fire broke out at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah ''

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

'' in

Kampung Datuk Keramat Kampung Datuk Keramat or more commonly referred to as Keramat (old name - Tangga Cina) among the locals is a large zone in the Titiwangsa constituency, falling within the boundary of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located nor ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

resulted in 23 of the madrasa residents (comprising 21 students and two teachers) killed, while five others were reportedly injured. Based on the investigations, there was a quarrel between the madrasa boarders and a group of seven teenage boys who entered the area to abuse the drugs they purchased, prompting them to burn the building. All of the seven troubled teens were expelled from school following numerous serious discipline offences. Further causes were including a firework assault against them by the same teens and a quarrel over who will use the futsal court between two parties.

Background

The fire started on the second and upper floors of the madrasa building, and quickly spread throughout most of the building, preventing the only entrance which trapped the occupants from escaping. Many windows were also fitted with bolted grills that made it difficult for occupants to save themselves. Neighbouring witnesses reported that they were awakened at

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ...

by the cries of the students who were trapped inside the building and tried to save them but could not do so because the fire spread very quickly with many of them still trapped behind the metal window grills, adding that those who survived managed to escape by jumping directly to the ground while others through the building water pipelines. The fire was finally contained by the

fire department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

at around 6:40 am.

Victims

Twenty-three of the madrasa residents were killed in the incident, twenty-one were students and two were teachers. Their names and ages are as follows: # Muhammad Danieal Md Amin, 14 # Ahmad Rijal Mohammad Rodzi, 13 # Muhammad Hasrullah Ismaik, 14 # Muhammad Haikal Abdullah, 12 # Muhammad Aidil Aqmal Mohd Zamzuri, 10 # Muhammaf Fahmie Abdullah, 11 # Muhammad Afiq Haqimie Hairulizwan, 11 # Muhammad Aiman Ramzanudin, 12 # Azkar Dariemi F. Zaska, 8 # Nik Muhammad Ridzuan Bin Nik Azlan # Azkar Abiedi F. Zaska, 11 # Umar Al Khatab Helmi, 6 # Amiel Asyraaf Abd Rasid, 11 # Muhammad Nizammudin Nasrun, 13 # Muhammad Hafiz Iskandar Sulaiman, 11 # Muhammad Harris Ikhwan Mohd Sulaiman, 10 # Muhammad Taufik Hidayat Norazizan, 16 # Ahmad Harith Adam Mohd Nor Hadi, 12 # Muhammad Hazim Ahmad Nor, 13 # Muhammad Syafik Haikal Abdullah, 13 # Muhammad Zattulah Roslan, 11 # Mohd Yusuf Md, 26 (teacher) # Mohd Amrul Nizam Sakarno, 25 (teacher)

Investigations and arrests

Investigations were then conducted by

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

and

firefighters A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

to find the cause of the fire. Initially, the firefighters thought it may be due to a

short circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circu ...

but after a full investigation and through

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly ...

s outside the building, several suspects were identified to have infiltrated the area at around 3:10 am. Through other CCTVs footage retrieved from the five nearest

petrol stations A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasolin ...

, the intruding suspects had earlier been seen buying

petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...

at one of the stations at 1:30 am in a Yamaha Lagenda motorcycle. Around seven suspects were identified by police to be involved and most of them were apprehended on 16 September and detained at Jinjang Police Station lock-up. Survivors were detained at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

tent set outside the madrasa before being placed in secret premises around Keramat earlier on 15 September. The number of survivors was also kept confidential. Only the closest relatives were allowed to enter the premises to protect them from being approached by the public. Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Amar Singh concluded in a special press conference that the suspects were believed to have committed the crime out of revenge due to incidents of taunts among the students of the madrasa and the suspects. According to him, six out of seven suspects tested positive for drugs and two of them had previous criminal records relating to the offence of rioting and stealing vehicles. All suspects were aged between 11 and 18 years old. On August 17, 2020, Muhammad Adli Shah Bin Mohd Yusry was found guilty of 23 counts of murder and was sentenced to detention at the pleasure of the Yang-Dipertuan Agong.

Reactions

The tragedy gained considerable attention among the government, the public as well as media abroad.

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

described the incident as "the most devastating fire in Malaysia since the beginning of the year".

Government

The tragedy has been widely covered by leaders from both sides of the parties.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The o ...

Sultan Muhammad V Sultan Muhammad V ( Jawi: ; born 6 October 1969) has reigned as the 29th Sultan of Kelantan since September 2010 and served as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia from December 2016 until his abdication in January 2019. He was proclaimed ...

and Prime Minister

Najib Razak Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malay ...

visited the scene. Najib has sent condolences to all victims involved and urged all madrasa to comply with safety standards and regulations to ensure similar incidents do not recur in the future. Deputy Prime Minister

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi Dato' Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi ( ms, أحمد زاهد بن حميدي, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 4 January 1953) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 11th and 14th Deputy Prime Minister from July 2015 t ...

was the first to arrive at the scene in the afternoon after the incident. He mentioned the lack of control and training of madrasas that led to various incidents such as fires, tortures and the opening of illegal madrasas as well the appointment of

teachers A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

without any legal certification or qualification. Former Prime Minister

Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...

expressed his disappointment as the incident seemed to indicate that no lesson was taken from a similar incident in 1989.

References