KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — Political leaders from Umno and PAS had originally intended to perform their Zohor prayers at the National Mosque before marching to Dataran Merdeka in protest of the ICERD while supporting the government’s decision to not ratify the anti-discrimination convention.
However, part of their plans was scuffled due to scheduled maintenance work at the mosque itself.
Its main prayer hall has been shut down due to repair and renovation works since November 3 and work is expected to be completed on December 13.
“Well... I guess this is normal. Whenever there’s a rally or a demonstration, something seems to break down or slow down. Last time, it was the trains and now it is the mosque.
“I wonder how Friday prayers were performed yesterday,” a lawyer who requested anonymity complained to Malay Mail.
He said the congregation will have to find a way to perform their afternoon prayers outside the main hall before heading to Dataran Merdeka.
A security guard at the entrance of the main prayer hall told Malay Mail that all five Muslim prayers, including Friday prayers, had been performed at the mosque.
“We performed Friday prayers here yesterday. It’s just that we performed it outside the hall. There is still a lot of space,” said the unnamed guard.
ICERD is the acronym for the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
