KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian 'qari' (male reciter) and 'qariah' (female reciter) were crowned champions at 64th International Quran Recitation and Memorisation Assembly (MTHQA).
In the event held at the World Trade Centre here, Muhammad Husaini Mahmur secured first place in the Qari category with a score of 95.71 per cent.
Abdur Rasheed from Pakistan came in second with 93.59 per cent, while Wahyu Andi Saputra from Indonesia took third place with 92.09 per cent.
In the Qariah category, Nor Hidayah Abdul Rahman emerged as the champion with a score of 91.76 per cent, followed by Raihana Ambangaladi from the Philippines in second place (90.26 per cent), and Syamimi Assahira from Indonesia in third (89.46 per cent).
His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, presented the award for the Qari category, while Her Majesty the Queen, Raja Zarith Sofiah awarded the Qariah category.
In the men's Hafazan (memorisation) category, Oubaydullah Boubacar Ango from Niger clinched the top spot with a score of 97.63 per cent, followed by Ibrahim Sow from Ivory Coast (97.00 per cent) and Aeimiddin Farkhudinov from Russia in third place (96.88 per cent).
In the women's Hafazan category, Habsatou Hamissou Boubacar from Niger took first place with a score of 96.13 per cent.
She was followed by Putri Aminah Mohd Hanif from Malaysia in second place with 94.89 per cent, and Fathimah Shaya Zahir from the Maldives in third with 94.38 per cent.
Winners in both the recital and memorisation categories received cash prizes of RM40,000 from the government, along with gold bars worth RM12,000, courtesy of the Malaysian Islamic Economic Development Foundation (YaPEIM), as well as additional prizes and certificates.
The 64th MTHQA, organised by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), featured 92 participants from 71 countries, comprising 53 competitors in recitation and 39 in memorisation.
This year's assessment involved 15 judges from various countries, retaining several judges from Morocco and Turkey, alongside new judges from Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
The evaluation process focused on aspects such as tajweed, 'fasahah' (fluency), voice quality, and memorisation accuracy.
Notable attendees at the event included the Yang Dipertua Negeri of Sabah, Tun Juhar Mahiruddin, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul, and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar.