A total of 12.5 tons of Al-Quran and religious books which had been burnt for disposal were lowered into the sea in Pulau Tukun Perak waters, about five nautical miles from Pulau Pangkor, here today.

All the ashes, which were placed separately in more than 500 plastic bags in a bulk, were brought by the vessel, KM Marlin, belonging to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) from the Kampung Acheh MMEA Jetty, at about 9.45 am to the location.

The journey to the site, located about 15 nautical miles from the jetty, took about one hour.

The disposal of the holy books was carried out by the Chairman of the Islamic Publication Materials Censorship Committee of the Home Ministry, Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria, who is also the Mufti of Perak.

Also present were the Chairman of the State Committee on Islamic Religion, Islamic Education and Character Development, Datuk Mohd Nizar Zakaria and the Director of the Perak Islamic Religious Department (JAIPk), Datuk Mohd Yusop Husin.

Mohd Yusop said all the Al-Quran and religious books were damaged due to the major floods that hit several districts in Perak at the end of last year.