Govt to strengthen pondok schools with AI, infrastructure upgrades, says Anwar

PUTRAJAYA: The government will continue to strengthen pondok schools through infrastructure upgrades and the introduction of new fields of knowledge, including artificial intelligence (AI).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said this was crucial to ensuring pondok schools remained relevant while staying true to the Islamic scholarly tradition at their core.

He said aid could be provided to selected pondok schools to serve as models.

"It cannot just be about physical facilities, but also about the disciplines of knowledge," he said at the National Turath Ulama Muzakarah 2026.

Anwar said various administrations had governed the country since independence, but he wanted efforts to strengthen pondok schools to be pursued with greater resolve.

He said government assistance should be seen as an effort to uplift pondok schools, including by providing better facilities for students.

"First, the pondok itself must be elevated. This is the government's role: to assist and refine it. Pondok schools must also accept new curricula," he said.

At the same time, Anwar said introducing new subjects did not mean abandoning traditional texts and Islamic scholarship, but adapting to current needs.

He cited AI as a key discipline to prioritise, noting its vast potential for dakwah and the advancement of Islam.

However, he warned that using AI without ethical and moral frameworks could pose serious risks to Muslims.

"AI is an important tool in dakwah and the spread of Islam, but AI without ethics and morality can become a major problem and an enemy that will wound us," he said.

Anwar said pondok students must be exposed to and trained in the technology so they do not remain mere end-users, but fully understand its benefits and risks.

"Therefore, we must train the youths in pondok to master it," he said.

Present at the event were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, former Grand Mufti of Egypt Sheikh Ali Jum'ah and prominent scholar Sheikh Prof Dr Sayyid Idris al-Fasi.