SEREMBAN: Female state government employees in Negri Sembilan will be allowed to go home at 2pm on Fridays during the fasting month, says Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun.
The Mentri Besar said they would be required to work through their lunch break during the other days of the week to be eligible.
"We have agreed to allow female employees to return home earlier on that one day of the week during Ramadan.
"They will start work as usual at 7.30am and end at 2pm," he told reporters after chairing the state exco meeting at Wisma Negri.
Aminuddin said department heads would, however, have the ultimate discretion on this to ensure services are not disrupted.
"Based on our findings, counter operations will not be disrupted by this as their tasks will be taken over by the male employees.
"Department heads will have to ensure all procedures are complied with to prevent disruptions," he said.
Aminuddin said the female employees would have worked the same number of hours by working through their lunch break.
He said these employees would have to stay back if there were important events or meetings on Fridays which required their presence after 2pm.
Separately, Aminuddin advised the public to refrain from carrying out open burning due to the continued dry weather.
Citing an example, he said some areas in Jempol had not received rain for almost two weeks.
"Many areas in the state have also not received rain for 10 consecutive days.
“So, I hope that the public will not worsen the situation by carrying out open burning," he said.
He said the state's dams were still at full capacity despite the dry weather.
