ISKANDAR PUTERI: Muslim men should have no excuse in performing their Friday prayers following Johor’s move in reverting its weekend rest day to Saturday and Sunday.
State Islamic Religious Affairs committee chairman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid said this includes Muslim men who are workers and business owners.
“All Muslim men, including restaurant owners, must leave their business or work affairs for a while and perform their Friday prayers, which is an obligation for them,” he added.
Mohd Fared said this during a press conference held during the sidelines of the state assembly meeting held at Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Kota Iskandar here on Tuesday (Nov 26).
He added that the Johor Islamic Religious Department (JAINJ) would carry out enforcement to make sure all Muslim men in the state attend Friday prayers.
Mohd Fared also said that male Muslim employees who faced discrimination for performing the Friday prayers should lodge a report with the Labour Department.
“JAINJ already held discussions with employers and all of them agreed with the two-hour break to allow their Muslim workers to perform the Friday prayers,” he said.
Earlier, Mohd Fared told the state assembly that the Johor Mufti Department would be issuing guidelines to allow schools to have Friday prayers inside their compounds.
He added that this comes as JAINJ has identified 26 schools that have difficulties in carrying out Friday prayers due to several factors.
“These schools have applied to the state Mufti Department in upgrading the surau in their respective compounds to allow Friday prayers to be performed by their teachers and students.
“Some of these schools are located more than 3km from a mosque while the number of Muslim students and teachers are many,” he said.
Mohd Fared said this in his reply to Abdul Aziz Talib (PN-Maharani) who asked about the government’s preparation to make it easier for Muslim students in carrying out their religious obligation.
He added that the state fatwa committee would make a decision in allowing the schools’ applications before the start of the 2025 school term.
In October, Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim decreed that starting Jan 1, 2025, the state’s weekend off days will be changed to Saturday and Sunday.
Tunku Ismail said the decision was made after getting the consent and blessing from His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and views from JAINJ.
This will conclude an 11-year period in which Friday and Saturday were designated as the official rest days.
Johor stands out as the only state in Malaysia where most private sectors, including commercial banks, observe the Saturday-Sunday weekend, while the government services follow the Friday-Saturday schedule.
States such as Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah observe Friday-Saturday weekends for both the government and private sectors.
