MELAKA, The Melaka government, through the state Islamic Religious Department (JAIM), will turn the Pulau Besar Tahfiz Institute into a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Tahfiz Centre, which will also offer diving courses. State Education, Higher Education and Religious Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Rahmad Mariman said that the effort is now in final discussions with the private sector, and is expected to start in July. 'In addition to memorisation of the Quran, at the same time, they will also be given the opportunity to take a recreational and professional diving licence, which can be used for a career in the appropriate field in the future. 'For a start, we will enrol 60 to 80 students, and we believe that this TVET Tahfiz Centre is the first in Malaysia to offer the course,' he said. The Ayer Molek assemblyman said this when met by reporters at his state constituency Aidilifitri open house, which was also graced by the presence of the Yang Dipertua Negeri of Melaka Tun Mohd Al i Rustam. Meanwhile, Rahmad said JAIM also intends to expand the use of sign language interpreters during Friday sermons in the state's mosques, namely at Masjid Selat, Masjid Cina Melaka and Masjid Al-Alami, in addition to district mosques, after the programme was introduced at Masjid Al-Azim in April. He said that the effort to use interpreters, is in collaboration with the Melaka Deaf Association (POPNM), to facilitate and accommodate the group to understand the sermons delivered. 'Thus far, we have been implementing this approach for more than a month at Masjid Al-Azim to enable deaf and mute people to understand the content of the sermons which are broadcast live on screens in the mosque,' he said, while extending appreciation to 5,000 guests who attended the Aidilfitri gathering. Source: BERNAMA News Agency