The Sultan of Johor, Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar has declared that the state’s rest days will be Friday and Saturday, instead of Saturday and Sunday, effective from 1st January 2014.
The announcement was made during the investiture ceremony in conjunction with Sultan Ibrahim’s 55th birthday.
Before the year 1994, Johor had Friday and Saturday as non-working days. In his speech, the Sultan said that the decision was made following the feedback from various quarters to allow Muslims to perform their religious obligation on Friday in a more peaceful manner.
Johor Mufti Datuk Tahrir Datuk Shamsudin supported the new weekend switch saying, “The switch will give Muslims more time to prepare for Friday prayer, and as for Muslim fathers, they will be able to bring along their sons to the mosque to perform the Friday prayer”.
Despite skeptical notions about the change, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Khaled Nordin said that the switch in rest days will not affect the state’s economy. He added that those who have Sundays as rest days could still make dealings with the state government as Sunday would be a normal working day for state government employees.
Nordin also said that the private sector also has the option to follow the state government, or retain Saturday and Sunday as rest days.
Currently, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu have Friday and Saturday as their off days.
Do you think the revised weekend in the state of Johor was a wise decision? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
