PUTRAJAYA: The Emirates Astronomical Society's prediction report on the date for Hari Raya Aidilfitri will be discussed at the committee level of the National Fatwa Council.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said the discussion was timely to prevent a recurrence of last year's abrupt Hari Raya incident.
"Hari Raya Aidilfitri is under the Keeper of the Ruler's Seal. So we have to wait. We will discuss it at the National Fatwa Council committee level and so on. We want to avoid what happened last year, to keep people from being surprised," he said at a press conference at the Local Government Development Ministry here today.
Na'im also urged Malaysian Muslims to be patient in this matter and quoted a hadith, stating that any decision made by the rulers was for the benefit of the people.
On April 4, a middle east news portal known as The National News reported that the Emirates Astronomical Society had calculated that Hari Raya Aidilfitri would fall on Friday (April 21) in the United Arab Emirates.
This means that the fasting month will last for 29 days only, a similar incident that happened last year, which caught Muslims in Malaysia by surprise in their festive preparations.
Previously, there was online speculation that this year's Aidilfitri would once again be celebrated a day earlier than expected.
On March 31, the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) issued a statement asking the public not to speculate because last year's date was based on observations in 29 locations and had received the approval of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.
