LABUAN — A total of 476 mosque and Friday surau committee members have been appointed in Labuan for the 2026-2029 term, said Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (JAWI) director Haji Hanifuddin Roslan.
He said the appointments involved 18 mosques and 16 Friday surau in the federal territory, with 103 of them comprising chairmen, secretaries and treasurers.
Speaking at the Mandate Ceremony and Presentation of Appointment Letters to Mosque and Friday Surau Committee Members for the 2026-2029 term here tonight, Hanifuddin said the appointments symbolised a major trust and responsibility to lead mosque and surau institutions with sincerity, integrity and accountability.
“For this term, 3,010 nominations were received involving 91 mosques and 124 Friday surau throughout the Federal Territories.
“Of the total, 2,914 candidates were selected after undergoing a comprehensive integrity screening process with the cooperation of the Royal Malaysia Police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Department of Insolvency Malaysia,” he said.
Hanifuddin said the screening process reflected JAWI’s commitment to ensuring that those entrusted to serve on mosque and surau committees were individuals of integrity, credibility and strong commitment.
He said mosque and surau institutions must continue to be strengthened as centres of worship, knowledge dissemination, community welfare, human capital development and unity.
He reminded the newly-appointed committee members that the positions they held were not merely a form of recognition, but a trust that required honesty, integrity and high accountability.
“Every fund managed is derived from charity, donations, waqf, zakat and contributions from the community, given with sincerity.
“These funds do not belong to individuals or committees, but are a trust of the ummah that must be managed transparently, prudently and with integrity,” he said.
Hanifuddin also said JAWI had reviewed and updated the 2026 Financial Guidelines for Mosques and Surau in the Federal Territories to further strengthen governance.
He said the amendments were made to ensure that the financial management of mosques and surau remained relevant to current needs and complied with good governance principles, in line with Islamic requirements and public sector financial management practices.
He urged all mosque and Friday surau administrators in the Federal Territories to give their full commitment to complying with the guidelines.
Hanifuddin said consistent and disciplined implementation of the guidelines would make mosque and surau financial management more systematic, transparent and credible.
He said strengthened financial governance would increase public confidence in mosque institutions and encourage more Muslims to contribute through charity, donations, waqf and other forms of welfare.
He also called on the new committee members to reject all forms of misconduct, abuse of power, breach of trust or any act that could tarnish the sanctity of mosque institutions.
The ceremony was held at Dewan Sri Tunas, Desa Tunas Hijau, Kampung Sungai Miri, here.
Hanifuddin also expressed appreciation to the previous 2023-2026 mosque and Friday surau committee members for their service, commitment and contributions.
Also present were JAWI Labuan senior assistant director Dr Muhamad Hapizi Sulaiman; Ustaz Mohd Isa Ahris, representing the manager of the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) Labuan; Federal Territories Labuan deputy mufti Ismail Tuan Abdullah; and Labuan Corporation Socio-Economic Department director Mahathir Abd Hamid, representing Labuan Corporation chief executive officer.
