Teacher says RM33,400 hourly fees rate for private jet rental, not mile-high Quran classes

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — Claims of a RM33,400 hourly fee for Quran-reading classes in luxury jets is untrue, the award-winning teacher conducting the planned classes has said.

Sharifah Khasif Fadzilah Syed Badiuzzaman also denied that she was a "penjual agama”, describing the term as those who twist religion for worldly interests and who do not dare to speak the truth but side with what is false for the sake of money and positions.

Advertising

Advertising

"The fees to study in a luxury jet at RM33,400 per hour is not true. I am not someone who sells religion,” she wrote in a post on her Facebook page yesterday.

She insisted that her Quran classes was a complimentary optional service thrown in for free for those who rent private jets from a local firm.

"I was offered by Elite Jets Sdn Bhd to lead al-Quran classes for free to those that use Elite Jets Sdn Bhd’s services by upholding the Al-Quran wherever [we are]. It is undeniable that most of those who rent are those from the VVIP, royalty and successful entrepreneurs both from inside and outside the country.

"The amount of RM33,400 per hour is NOT the study fees, but it is the rate for the private jets’ flights that is standard on Elite Jets Sdn Bhd’s website. That’s why I say, how many know about private jets. We are shocked when hearing the value of jets, don’t even know the operating cost per hour that breaches US$5,000 for the cost of fuel, permit, insurance and maintenance cost.

"So the offer of the class is the choice of each person who rents the jet itself, whether to study during fly or to have private class among them without flying off,” said Sharifah Khasif Fadzilah, who reportedly won an international Quran recital competition in 2009.

She noted that studying the al-Quran in private jets is a "new approach” to knowing the Muslims’ holy book better and fits with a Quran chapter telling Muslims to remember Allah whether they are standing, sitting or reclining.

Elite Jets CEO Capt Hani Salman Ahmad had earlier said that some of the profits from the classes and flights will go to a Quranic religious school that Sharifah Khasif will set up in Perak, while some will go towards Quran memorisers who are in poverty and orphans, with the rest for company management and aircraft maintenance.

Earlier this week, Malay Mail Online’s sister publication ProjekMMO reported that over 100 people from both Malaysia and abroad have expressed interest in the Quran-reading classes on jet flights that have been advertised since last Thursday.

Elite Jets director Nik Eleena Zurenee Nik Mustapha has said that the firm is targeting the wealthy in Malaysia, Brunei and Saudi Arabia with these flights that will start in May.

Nik Eleena also explained that the prices were not fixed at US$7,500 (RM33,367) an hour and depended on the type of aircraft used and seating position, while the total cost was based on the overall flight time.

Local news reports said that those who opt to sit in a stationary jet for the Quran-reading classes will have to pay RM2,000 per hour.