The private sector has the option to either follow Johor’s official rest days on Friday and Saturday or continue to observe Saturday and Sunday as theirs, said Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

“It’s up to the private sector whether they want to follow it or not,” he told reporters after taking part in a gotong-royong in Taman Dahlia in Pasir Gudang yesterday.

The Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar declared the change of the state’s rest days effective Jan 1 next year at the investiture ceremony in conjunction with his 55th birthday in Muar on Saturday.

Mohamed Khaled said as Johor had observed weekend on Friday and Saturday prior to 1994, the switch is not expected to have a huge effect on the state’s economy.

Brushing aside that the switch will negatively affect business sector, he said on the contrary, they would benefit from it as Sunday would be a normal working day for state government employees.

“There have been complaints from the private sector that they were not able to visit state departments as they were busy doing business. But with the switch, we hope they can come and see us on Sunday,” he said.

On criticisms at the switch, he said, “Of course, there will be differences of opinion when something new is implemented.

“We will notify the federal government on the switch before Jan 1 to enable it to decide whether federal departments and agencies will also observe Friday and Saturday as rest days.”

- Bernama