KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu state government will increase the number of shariah enforcement officers in the state next year to empower its Islamic religious departments.
State shariah implementation, education and higher education committee chairman Satiful Bahri Mamat said the existing number of shariah enforcement officers was insufficient for enforcement in Terengganu.
“We now have 85 enforcement officers, comprising 62 men and 23 women.
“It is indeed a small number and cannot accommodate the increase in the state’s population, which has reached 1.2 million, and the addition of a new district, namely Kuala Nerus,” he said during the question-and-answer session at the Terengganu state assembly here.
He was replying to a question from Hilmi Harun (PAS-Manir) regarding the number of shariah enforcement officers in each district in the state.
Satiful also said the state government would increase the number of shariah enforcement volunteers to assist enforcement officers in carrying out their tasks.
According to him, the list of volunteers had been submitted to the Terengganu Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (Maidam) for approval.