JOHOR BARU: Johoreans are backing the decision by the state on reviewing its rest days, which currently fall on Fridays and Saturdays.
Radiah Saori, who has three young daughters, said the current Friday rest day was difficult for her family.
The 43-year-old insurance agent said her husband was also in the private sector and they work from Monday to Friday.
Their daughters, however, have school from Sunday to Thursday, which she said leaves them with not enough quality family time.
“As a parent, I would like the rest days to revert to Saturdays and Sundays,” she said.
Yesterday, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said he had been listening to grouses about the different rest days for the government and the private sector, adding the matter was under review.
“The state government will review this matter so parents and their children are able to rest on the same days.
“I will announce the matter soon after identifying the right step towards solving this issue,” he added.
Government administrative officer Rifhan Zainuddin, 32, said quality time with her husband, who works in the private sector, and with their five-year-old son was affected by the different rest days.
“It is difficult for us as we can only go out as a family on Saturdays and we cannot afford to take long leave due to our work commitments,” she added.
Malaysian Education Concorde Organisation chairman Mohd Ridhwan Othman said the move to revert to Saturdays and Sundays as rest days was important for families to build stronger ties.
The move would not be a problem for schools and teachers in Johor, he added.
“Students’ school attendance on Sundays in Johor, especially after a long public holiday, is quite low with a lot of parents choosing to give their children a break at home.
“If the state decides to revert, it would be a good move for families and parents living and working in Johor,” he said.
Johor Tourist Guides Association chairman Jimmy Leong said normalising the weekends to follow Singapore would benefit the state’s tourism sector.
“Singapore has its weekends on Saturdays and Sundays, when thousands of Singaporeans will travel through the southern gateway to enter Malaysia.
“It would be a good move if the state government changes back our weekends to follow other states and countries,” he said, adding that the United Arab Emirates recently changed its weekends to Saturdays and Sundays.
Johor Indian Business Association president P. Sivakumar said it was important for the state to streamline rest days to follow international practice if it wanted to attract more foreign investments.
“Having our weekends on Saturdays and Sundays would make it easier for foreign companies to communicate with government departments and agencies here as they would be operating on the same days,” he said.
In 2013, Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar declared the change in the state’s rest days to Fridays and Saturdays instead of Saturdays and Sundays.
The change of weekend has been in force in the state since Jan 1, 2014.
Besides Johor, states such as Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu also have Fridays and Saturdays as their days off.
