Johor would be regressing back to having weekends on Saturday and Sunday from the current Friday-Saturday weekend, which had been in effect since 2014. This announcement was made earlier today (Monday, 7th October) by the Regent of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, on his Facebook.
It has been stated that the decision regarding the weekend changes was made after the consent and blessing from His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and the views of the Johor Islamic Religious Council (JAINJ). The new weekend change will be in use, beginning next year, on 1st January 2025.
“I have decreed for the Johor Chief Minister YAB Dato’ Onn Hafiz Ghazi and Johor Mufti to discuss and study every angle and aspect regarding this matter. I also hope that the private sector, the government and related parties allow sufficient time and space for Muslim workers to perform the Friday prayers accordingly,” said Tunku Ismail.
The official weekend in Johor had been the Friday-Saturday system, including other states such as Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu. This change was made as a result of the increasing complaints from the government and private sectors due to the difference in rest days. The education and banking sectors aim to align with the government weekend schedule of Saturday and Sunday; thus, the decision was made.
The announcement received mixed reactions from many Malaysian netizens. A majority of them were happy with the news as it would give them more time to spend with their family, and some were relieved as it would make their business-related work easier to settle.
Contrary to that, some netizens were disappointed with the news and hoped that the Friday-Saturday weekend system would be left unchanged. Others also commented that it would be hard to resolve bank or other government-related issues as all the offices would be closed during the weekend.
Sources: Facebook, TheNewStraitTimes, The Star
Tiana contributed to this article.
