KUANTAN, January 30- Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (YADIM Pahang is currently seeking young dai'e among the Indigenous people for its Field Outreach program, aimed at spreading knowledge of religious obligations in the Indigenous villages of the state.
Eligible candidates need only to be graduates from religious schools and will receive an allowance of at least RM1,500 per month as encouragement for assisting in the outreach efforts.
Its Director, Alwi Muda, stated that those appointed will receive basic training at the YADIM Da'wah Training Institute for three months on religious obligations, Iqra' reading and Quran recitation, prayer improvement, funeral prayers, and animal slaughtering.
They will then be accredited as Indigenous dai'e and will be allowed to conduct outreach in their own villages while also required to submit monthly activity reports to YADIM.
Currently, there is a group of six young dai'e from YADIM assisting in outreach efforts in the Indigenous villages, but this number is insufficient due to barriers such as language and culture.
"The Indigenous preachers are very important because one of the barriers we face with the Indigenous communities is the constraints of language and culture. When there are language and cultural barriers, it creates a distance between us and them.
"Thus, one of the steps being taken by YADIM is to find preachers among the Indigenous people themselves, who surely understand their own culture and language. Therefore, YADIM is seeking as many preachers as possible from among the Indigenous people," he said.
He made these remarks during a meeting at the YADIM State Office in Pahang, Kuantan.
Last December, the young dai'e of YADIM conducted outreach work in Kampung Orang Asli Terisu, Cameron Highlands, Pahang, with the assistance of the Pahang Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MUIP), the District Religious Office, the District Education Office, and the The Department for Orang Asli Development (JAKOA).
They camped for 20 days in the village to preach and spread knowledge of religious obligations among the Indigenous community.
In February, the Field Outreach program is expected to take place in Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Kuching, Jerantut, Pahang.