Good for work and leisure: Johor business leaders applaud move to ...

The business community in Johor has responded positively to the announcement that the state will change its weekend from Friday and Saturday to Saturday and Sunday, starting January 1 next year. — Picture by Ben Tan

By Ben Tan

Tuesday, 08 Oct 2024 10:08 AM MYT

JOHOR BARU, Oct 8 — The announcement for Johor to revert its weekend to Saturday and Sunday from the current Friday and Saturday starting January 1 next year has been positively welcomed by the business community here.

Among them is Olive Tree Property Consultants chief executive officer Samuel Tan who lauded the long-awaited announcement.

He described the move as a good start for next year as adopting the same weekends with others will reduce confusion among Johor’s investors.

“With the start of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) and Forest City Special Financial Zone (SFZ), the weekend realignment is an important move.

“Internationally, the weekends of trading countries are always on Saturday and Sunday. So, the consistency will go a long way in our communication with the global business community,” Tan said when contacted by Malay Mail yesterday.

He was responding to the announcement yesterday by Johor Regent Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Ibrahim who said the state will revert its weekend days to Saturday and Sunday starting January 1 next year, following the royal assent of the state Ruler Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia.

Tan, who is also a Johor-based business and investment trends analyst, added that families in the state will also benefit from the move.

“With a common weekend, families will have more time together and not be divided by different weekends. Strong families are the cornerstones of nation-builders,” he said.

However, Tan also noted that the announcement will also put an end to companies that leverage on the different weekends for the public and private sectors.

He said from January 1 next year, the companies will have to cease on their flexible schedules due to only one fixed weekend.

“The ability and flexibility for certain companies to work on different weekends can actually improve productivity,” he said, referring to certain private companies in Johor that practice staggered weekends to cater to the public sector.

Indian-based organisation Pertubuhan Gagasan Rakyat Bumi Johor chairman S. Deva said the decision for Johor to change its weekend back to Saturday and Sunday for next year is a positive move.

“The move shows that the Johor palace and state government is in tune with the needs of the people.

“For a start, many private sector families will get to enjoy a more fulfilling weekend as school-going children will now share the same common days off,” he said when contacted by Malay Mail.

Deva, who is also an Indian community leader, said the move will also benefit most businesses and industries in Johor.

“Aligning a common workday and weekend makes sense as Johor’s closest international trading partner is Singapore, that practices a Saturday and Sunday rest days.

“This also puts Johor’s official weekends on par with almost all international countries as we prepare for the JS-SEZ and Forest City SFZ,” he said.

Johor South SME Association adviser Teh Kee Sin said the announcement for Johor to revert its weekend days is a welcome for the small medium enterprise (SME) community in Johor.

He told Malay Mail that the move will put an end to various issues that the Johor SME community had in the past such as licensing, approvals and other administrative matters with the state government.

“By next year, workdays by the private sector, state government and federal government will be aligned as all three will share a common weekend,” he said.

Teh also lauded the move as being beneficial to families in the state.

He said family gatherings and weekend’s activities can be better planned as both parents and children share the same weekend.

The Coordinating Council of the Federation of Johor Malay Non-Governmental Organisations (Gabung Johor) said they welcomed the announcement made by Tunku Ismail and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

Its acting secretary Johairi Saidon said its members, who are mainly Johor-based Malay businessmen, will abide by the change of weekends provided that there is ample time given for Friday prayers.

Previously in 2022, Gabung Johor was vocally in support of the state government to maintain its current official weekend rest days on Friday and Saturday.

The association cited that Friday is a blessed day of the week for Muslims in recognition of Islam as the official religion for the state.

Despite the positive outlook on the move, the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Johor chapter chairman Ivan Teo said the realignment may not benefit the state’s hotels.

“At present, Friday and Saturday serves as a weekend for some Johoreans, and many will use the start of their weekend (Friday) to be with their families for short trips as a quick getaway to avoid the incoming weekend crowd.

“However, with the change to Saturday and Sunday, we will see a surge in leisure activities during those two days,” he told the Malay Mail.

Teo explained that this surge will be especially noticeable in Johor where the domestic tourists will compete with those from Singapore.

He said the situation will see Johoreans forking out more time and money for their weekends which is a peak period.

Pasir Gudang parliamentarian Hassan Abdul Karim said he was not impressed by the announcement saying it was a vestige of the country’s former colonial power.

Despite being a popular move for most Johoreans, the outspoken PKR politician said the current Friday and Saturday as a weekend in Johor was significant according to the state’s history.

“Johor was a Malay state in the Federation of Malaya from the group of non-federated Malay states. It is the same for Kelantan, Trengganu and Kedah.

“In these non-federated Malay states, the weekends observed are Friday and Saturday. These non-federated Malay states are the states that have the least influence on the British colonialists that imposed cultural influence on their colonies which is the Saturday and Sunday weekends,” he told Malay Mail when contacted yesterday.

Hassan reminded that Friday is a glorious day in Islam and Johor is one of the states with the most mosques.

He said the significance of Friday being a blessed day was observed by Muslims the world over.

“Johor will not lose out if the current Friday and Saturday weekend is maintained,” he said.

Earlier, Tunku Ismail announced the weekend change in January next year was made with the consent and blessing of the His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.

He hopes that the private sector, the government and related parties will allow sufficient time and space for Muslim workers to perform Friday prayers accordingly.

Onn Hafiz, in a separate statement, said earlier that the Johor government and mufti will work towards ensuring that the change of weekends to Saturday and Sunday takes into account Friday prayers for Muslims.