Johor ABIM Welcomes Weekend Shift

JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (ABIM) of Johor has welcomed the Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail's decision to change the state's weekend holidays from Friday and Saturday to Saturday and Sunday.

It also called on all the people of Johor to respect the changes, which will take effect from Jan 1, 2025.

The Johor ABIM said that it is also confident the order had been scrutinised together with the Johor government and, most importantly, received the consent of His Majesty, Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.

"As a Muslim community that understands its demands, we must be cognisant that Allah SWT calls us to go out on Fridays to settle our respective affairs," it said in a statement today.

It added that to strengthen the people of multiple religions, races and ethnicities in Johor, it proposed three matters that could be implemented on Friday, including re-empowering the Semarak Al Quran programme on Fridays in every public and private department and agency, as contained in Clause 57 of the Constitution of Johor, which states that "The 'State Religion' for the Territory and the State of Johor is Islam."

The second point, according to Johor ABIM, is for government employers, authorities, departments, institutions and agency administrators as well as the private sector to provide male employees reasonable time to perform Friday prayers, including time for breaks and lunch.

"The third point is that in a move to support Bangsa Johor people from multiple religions, races and nationalities, it is suggested that the Johor Government allocate a special unity, harmony and a culture of peace programme for non-Muslims, including women, while Muslims attend Friday prayers.

"Therefore, Johor ABIM calls on all parties to consider Friday as being the day of Islamic eminence and the unification of the ummah in addition to conducting daily activities," it said.

The statement also clarified that working on Fridays is not new for Bangsa Johor because, before 2015, the weekends were on Saturdays and Sundays.

The weekend realignment ends an 11-year period in which Friday and Saturday had been designated as the official days off since 2014.

-- BERNAMA