Perak Sultan: Congregational prayers without physical distancing in state starting April 1

IPOH, March 23 — The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah has consented to obligatory prayers as well as Friday prayers, funeral prayers and tarawih prayers to be held at mosques and surau in the state according to the capacity of the premises without physical distancing, starting April 1.

The ruler said in order to protect the safety of students, especially those in boarding schools, principals were given the permission to use their discretion to hold Friday prayers in surau, buildings or areas around their respective institutions.

Sultan Nazrin said although Perak usually allowed 20-rakaat tarawih prayers to be held, the committee and mosque officers can use their discretion to determine the number of rakaat deemed reasonable for their respective mosques and surau to minimise the risk of infection at the premises during the Transition to Endemic Phase.

“To minimise the period of exposure of the congregants in a closed building, the tazkirah (short religious talks) session after the witir prayers should not exceed 30 minutes.

“Qiamullail (voluntary night prayers) and iktikaf (staying in mosques) are allowed by adhering to the preventive measures and based on the advice of the Health Department,” he said during a briefing session on mosque and surau activities in Perak in preparation to enter the Transition to Endemic Phase at Bangunan Setiausaha Kerajaan Perak, here, today.

Sultan Nazrin said activities such as tadarus (reciting) Al-Quran, lectures are also allowed to be held at mosques and surau.

He said the breaking of fast and moreh (supper after tarawih prayers) at mosques and surau are also allowed provided that meals are prepacked.

“The Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council must issue a detailed circular on methods and procedures for managing activities in mosques and surau, covering matters related to cleanliness and sanitation,” he said.

Sultan Nazrin the matters that have been consented to today would be closely monitored, especially by the National Security Council and the Health Department, assisted by Orang Besar Jajahan, district officers and district religious administrative officer.

“The report must be submitted to me a regular basis,” he said.

Sultan Nazrin also urged Orang Besar Jajahan and district religious administrative officer to play an active role in raising the rural people’s awareness of the importance of boosting the immune system to help the body fight against the Covid-19 virus.

He said this was because the Covid-19 booster dose take-up rate in Perak was still low, especially among the rural population and Muslims.

Meanwhile, in Seremban, the Negri Sembilan government has set the physical distancing requirement for congregational prayers and wirid (repeated citations from the Quran) at all mosques and surau in the state to be according to the size of prayer mat, namely 0.6 metres wide x 1.2 metres long, beginning April 1.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun said apart from the physical distancing rule, only fully vaccinated congregants were allowed to enter mosques and surau.

“All congregants must also ensure that they are healthy, have no symptoms such as fever, cough and flu. Congregants are also not allowed to shake hands.

“Congregants must bring their own prayer mat, wear face masks and register via the MySejahtera application,” he told a press conference after chairing the state executive council meeting here today.

Aminuddin said activities such as takmir classes, lectures or talks, qiamullail, tadarus, iktikaf as well as community programmes were also allowed to be held by observing physical distancing.

Apart from that, he said ‘takbir raya’ at mosques and surau as well as from house to house are also allowed by complying with the standard operating procedures (SOP) set.

He said social activities such as wedding reception and community programmes such as gotong-royong were also allowed, adding that information on the SOP can be obtained on the Negri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs Department’s website via the link www.jheains.gov.my. — Bernama