KUCHING: Friday prayers will still go on in Sarawak despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Islamic Affairs) Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi said the Sarawak Islamic Council had yet to issue any directive to suspend Friday prayers at mosques and suraus.
“As of now, we are still following the directive from the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri,” he said when attending a briefing on the proposed landscape development at Masjid Darul Hana here yesterday.
“If virus outbreak is still manageable, there will not be any suspension of Friday prayers but it is not encouraged to have mass gatherings.
“Apart from Perlis, other states in Malaysia are still encouraged to attend their weekly Friday prayers. Unless it was stated by the Health Ministry that the outbreak is out of control, then there will be directives on the prayers,” Abdul Rahman stated.
Abdul Rahman advised those going to pray in mosques or suraus to always practice good hygiene.
“We will place hand sanitizers at each entry points for all mosques and suraus, because it is strongly advisable to wash hands when greeting or praying.
“Other than that, the public are urged to practice social distancing to deal with infected patients. In case one is sick and has fever, they are to be isolated from anyone to ensure that they will get well,” he noted.
He added that in his Pantai Damai constituency, programmes that involved mass gathering would be limited for the time being until further notice from relevant authorities.
