KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — Non-Muslim places of worship, located in green zones, are allowed to operate throughout the conditional movement control order (CMCO) period from June 10 onwards, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.
He said the decision was a result of consultations and agreements with non-Muslim religious leaders and was subject to stringent standard operating procedures (SOP).
“Among them, the attendance should not be more than 30 devotees, depending on the size of the place of worship.
“There must also be body temperature checks, hand sanitiser preparation, and devotees are requires to wear face masks.
“Those aged over 70 and under 12 are not allowed to attend and the permission was strictly only for Malaysian citizens,” Ismail Sabri said during his daily press conference.
Ismail Sabri said the permission to operate will also be limited to main or important days of each religion, for one to two days a week.
“For example, Christians go to church on Sundays and that is the day that we will permit.
“Similarly, Hindus and Buddhist have their preferred days. We will allow one or two of the days,” he said, adding that marriage affair procedures involving temples, churches, and religious associations are still being deferred.
Ismail Sabri, who is also defence minister, said a total of 174 non-Muslim places of worship were allowed to operate nationwide.
“The National Unity Ministry will cooperate with the respective state governments to assist in the operation of non-Muslim places of worship,” he said, adding that failure to adhere to the SOP will see an immediate revocation of the permission to operate at the places of worship.
On Tuesday, Ismail Sabri said the National Security Council (NSC) is still fine-tuning the standard operating procedure (SOP) for non-Muslim places of worship before they can reopen.
