Terengganu MB denies Masjid Kristal has been neglected

Ahmad Razif says newspaper dismissed state government's efforts to repair the mosque and adds that report will negatively affect tourism.

KUALA TERENGGANU: Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif And Rahman is unhappy with a newspaper report that Masjid Kristal is in a state of neglect, and says the state government will not hesitate to take legal action against the publisher.

“The newspaper report is baseless and has suppressed the real information,” he said, adding that the report did not include the state government’s efforts to repair Masjid Kristal. He also said the report would negatively impact Visit Trengganu Year 2017.

“The newspaper report suggested that the state government abandoned Masjid Kristal while in truth, efforts are being taken to repair the mosque, although it will take some time before it happens,” he told Bernama, here today.

Ahmad Razif, who inspected Masjid Kristal on Aug 11 accompanied by State Economic Planning Unit (UPEN) officers, agreed to allocate RM305,000 to the Terengganu State Economic Development Corporation (PMINT), to replace 28 broken glass panels.

“The Public Works Department (PWD) was asked to give the estimate for waterproofing. UPEN received the estimate from the PWD two weeks ago and has sent a letter approving an allocation of RM584,000 for the PWD.

“We are in the process of appointing the contractors since the work calls for expertise and is urgent. This means that the state government has approved an allocation of RM889,000 for the repair of Masjid Kristal.”

He said the PWD had issued a tender for the repair work contract and the reporter who filed the report had been informed of this development.

Yesterday, a newspaper reported that visitors to the iconic Masjid Kristal in Taman Tamadun Islam, were left disappointed with the sorry state in which the mosque was in. -FMT