SHAH ALAM, March 25 -- There are only 14 unregistered tahfiz or religious schools in Selangor, with one school shut down last year, Selangor Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari told the State Legislative Assembly today.

He said that the state administration has been taking steps to register tahfiz schools, realising the potential of such schools in producing skilled huffaz (a person who has memorised the Quran) and the need for greater security.

"That's why as of now, the state government has registered more than 200 tahfiz schools, and from our record, till now, only 14 tahfiz schools have not registered with the Islamic department," he said in his winding up speech.

"So if you need the numbers, then these 14 are the ones faced with the risk ...