Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim has criticised Johor’s decision to revert to Saturday and Sunday as its official weekend days.
The vocal politician from PKR advocated for the state to maintain Friday and Saturday as its days of rest, saying that Friday is a holy day in Islam and highly regarded by Muslims worldwide.
“Maintaining Friday as a weekend day to honour the holy day for Muslims in Johor would not make the state be left behind (economically).
“Reverting to Sunday as a weekend and making Friday a working day was something the state had done a few years back.
“However, it did not last long because the Muslims in Johor did not support the move,” he said in a statement on Facebook.
According to Hassan (above), even non-Muslims in Johor have accepted the practice of observing Friday and Saturday weekends, which he said was derived from the state’s culture and political history.
Yesterday, Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim announced that the state will once again revert to Saturday and Sunday as its official weekend days, effective Jan 1, 2025.
Tunku Ismail said the decision received the consent and blessing of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar after considering the views of the Johor Islamic Religious Council.
‘Abandoning historical, cultural values’
Hassan pointed out that moving away from the practice of Friday and Saturday weekends would mean abandoning the historical and cultural values behind it.
While he admitted that he had no power to change the decision, the lawmaker stressed that he still had the right to express his objection to the move.
“I still have the right to speak up. This is something that cannot be taken away from me.
“Thus, as a Johor native, Malay and Muslim who respects the state’s culture, I humbly seek permission to raise my disagreement with the Johor ruler’s decision to replace the Friday weekend day with Sunday, which is something that the English colonisers had wanted all this while,” he said.
A relief for families
Johor Amanah chief Aminolhuda Hassan, however, welcomed the announcement as a relief for many, including married couples who previously faced difficulties aligning their off days.
”We also see that the change can end issues surrounding school children’s attendance on Sundays, believed to record unsatisfactory numbers.
”This is due to the differences in holidays between parents and children, resulting in absentees among students,” he said.
Johor has changed its official weekend days several times.
The southern state saw its first Saturday and Sunday rest days in 1994 when Muhyiddin Yassin was menteri besar.
However, on Jan 1, 2014, state ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar decided to revert to Johor’s traditional Friday-Saturday weekend.
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