BUTTERWORTH: Penang will not allow congregational Friday prayers in mosques and surau as the state has yet to finalise the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the matter.
As such, all mosque kariah must abide and follow the old guidelines before any new announcement is made.
State Islamic Religious Council president Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman said a decision on whether to allow congregational prayers in mosques and suraus in the state would be made within the next few days.
"The committee needs time, and currently we are reviewing and discussing the SOP, besides identifying suitable mosques and suraus for the purpose.
"We need to be careful although Penang is now a green state," he said.
Zakiyuddin, who is Deputy Chief Minister I, said any SOP would follow the guidelines by the National Security Council (MKN) and the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim).
Earlier today, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri had said that Muslims could perform congregational Friday prayers at mosques and selected suraus in the Federal Territories starting tomorrow.
He had said that the announcement to allow 88 mosques to reopen for prayers was made following the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah's consent recently.
