Malaysian schools have seen a spate of violent incidents, including bullying, rape and murder, but there has not been an order to close religious schools in the states of Kedah and Kelantan from authorities. The religious affairs minister, who oversees religious education institutions, called the claims circulating online "false, malicious and defamatory". As of November 12, there have been no official announcements or reports about the closure of religious schools.
"Rape at school, murder at school, bullying at school, drunkenness at school... In the end, it's religious schools that get shut down, what a stupid religious affairs minister," reads a Malay-language Facebook post on October 23, 2025.
The post features a photo of the Malaysian Minister of Religious Affairs, Mohd Na'im Mokhtar, speaking to the press. Malay-language text above the image reads: "Unregistered religious schools (pondok) in Kelantan and Kedah are expected to be ordered to close."
The same image of Mohd Na'im was shared alongside similar claims elsewhere on Facebook and Instagram.
The posts surfaced following several high-profile incidents of bullying, murder and rape in Malaysian local schools (archived here, here and here).
AFP has debunked a string of false claims after the incidents.
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