PM: No New Year celebrations; prayers for flood victims instead

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PETALING JAYA: The New Year’s Eve celebration is being cancelled this year, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Instead, he said that the celebration is replaced with the solat hajat and doa selamat, as a sign of respect and sympathy for the flood victims in several states.

"I have called on the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs), Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) and Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Yadim) to organise the Solat Hajat and Malaysia Berzikir Ambang 2022 on Dec 31 at the Putra Mosque in Putrajaya," he said in a series of tweets.

With that, he calls on the Malaysian Family (Keluarga Malaysia) to join the Maghrib prayers and solat hajat at the mosque on Friday night (Dec 31).

"For those who can't be there, they can follow the livestream on Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) and TV Al-Hijrah," he said, adding that mosques around the country should organise similar events.

Ismail Sabri noted that non-Muslims can pray according to their faith and religion at the same time.

"May our efforts be blessed, and Malaysia will be better than previous years," he tweeted.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the police said there will not be any fireworks display at KLCC and Pavilion during New Year's Eve, while in Penang, police warned the public against large gatherings at public spaces.