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IT’S BACK TO THE DAYS BEFORE 1994!
Before 1994, Johor had Friday and Saturday as non-working days.
From 1 January 2014, rest days will be Friday and Saturday.
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Earlier in March, the Sultan of Johor had voiced his intention to get his peoples’ opinion on the off days and problems arising from it.
theSundaily
Johor wants off days on Saturday and Sunday, survey revealed
Last updated on 22 June 2015 – 06:25pm
JOHOR BARU: Although Johor government had declared Friday and Saturday as off days since last year, a survey recently revealed that majority of the respondents still like the off days to be on Saturday and Sunday.
A survey done by Johor Baru Federation of Chinese Associations between April and May this year showed that 95.83% of the respondents (32,683) want the Johor week days to be reverted to Saturday and Sunday, only 4.17%(1,422) like to maintained as Friday and Saturday.
Its president Datuk Seri Tey Kim Chai said the survey covered Johor Baru and Mersing areas, a total of 34,105 survey forms were returned to the secretary of the association.
He said: “The respondents are from private and public sector.”
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He added the survey findings will be submitted to the secretary of the Johor Sultan and Johor Chief Minister.
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1467837
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FROM 2016, THERE WILL BE A CHANGE IN PUBLIC HOLIDAY: 23 MARCH WILL REPLACE 22 NOVEMBER.
Star
Friday March 20, 2015 MYT 2:30:37 PM
JOHOR BARU: From next year onwards, March 23 will be a public holiday in Johor to commemorate the coronation of its Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar.
Taking place on Monday, the coronation will be the first in the state in 55 years.
The new public holiday will replace the one on Nov 22, which is in conjunction with Sultan Ibrahim’s birthday, said state secretary Datuk Ismail Karim.
He said the change was made following a decree by the Ruler. “Starting this year, Nov 22 will no longer be a public holiday,” he said at a press conference yesterday.
“I hope the private sector will follow the ruling.”
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While the Sultan wants a Friday-Saturday week-end for ALL, MCA wants a Saturday-Sunday week-end.
Malaysiakini
1:21PM Jul 5, 2014
MCA wants Johor weekend change reversed
MCA says it will launch a petition to call for the weekend change to Friday and Saturday by Johor to be reversed to its initial Saturday-Sunday weekend.
The change was announced by Sultan Ibrahim Ismail on Nov 23 last year and it took effect in the state in January.
In a statement yesterday, MCA public services and complaints bureau chief Jason Teoh said Johor’s Iskandar region was growing rapidly and the state needed to be in-line with the international system if it hoped to attract even more foreign investment.
“If the weekends are different from international weekends, it will affect the ordering, delivering, banking and logistic issues,” said Teoh who is also Gelang Patah MCA division chief.
He said there were many Johoreans working in Singapore which has its off days on Saturday and Sunday, making it difficult for them to meet their families when they return home.
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Teoh said MCA’s signature campaign drive would show the people’s feedback on the matter.
“I urge members of the public to support the signature campaign, as the more signatures are collected, the better will it represent the ultimate aspiration of the people,” he said.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/267776
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WILL IT BE A FRIDAY-SATURDAY WEEK-END FOR ALL?
SINCE THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THE SPLIT IN GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SECTORS, THE SULTAN WANTS THEM MERGED.
Star
Friday May 30, 2014 MYT 7:52:38 AM
Johor Ruler wants Friday-Saturday implementation in all sectors
JOHOR BARU: Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar has urged the state government to study whether Johor’s official Friday-Saturday weekend can be implemented in the private sector as well.
Sultan Ibrahim said parents working in the private sector had complained that they did not have enough time to spend with their school-going children because they needed to work on Fridays.
“Due to this, I urge the state government to study the suitability of synchronising the off days to Friday and Saturday in all sectors,” he said during the opening of the second sitting of the state assembly yesterday.
In November last year, the Johor Ruler announced that the state’s rest days would be changed to the two days to make it easier for Muslims to conduct Friday prayers. The change came into effect on Jan 1 this year.
It was reported that the private sector, however, decided to continue with the Saturday-Sunday weekend to avoid complications in business matters, especially when dealing with foreign companies.
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Star
Friday April 4, 2014 MYT 1:42:27 PM
No plans to change Friday-Saturday weekend, says Johor MB
BATU PAHAT: Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin has denied that the state will be changing its current Friday and Saturday rest days back to Saturday and Sunday again.
Asked about recent postings circulating on social media websites about the state government mulling another change in the rest days since switching to Friday and Saturday from Jan 1 this year, Mohamed Khaled replied, “there is no such thing”.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/04/04/Johor-rest-days-remain/
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Did they ask all stakeholders in state what they thought before the decision was made?
Christians who worship on Sunday mornings will be adversely affected.
Banks will be adversely affected but Legoland will benefit, getting visitors on Saturday and Sunday from Singapore, and local visitors for Friday and Saturday.
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THE NEW YEAR BRINGS TWO DIFFERENT WEEK-ENDS!
AS USUAL, THE STAR INTERVEIWED SEVERAL PEOPLE, QUOTED 4 OF THEM, AND CONCLUDED:
‘Johoreans happy with Friday rest day’
Star
Saturday January 4, 2014 MYT 11:27:28 AM
This was Friday in Johor, where the public sector no longer observes Saturday and Sunday as the weekly rest days.
Banks, shopping malls and many businesses, however, were open as they have the option of either following the public sector or continue observing Saturday and Sunday as their weekly rest days.
Public Bank Bhd senior financial executive Ben Yu Wei Leong, 26, said leaving for work in Taman Sentosa from his house in Taman Bukit Kempas was a smooth journey yesterday.
“Usually, it takes about 45 minutes to reach my working place. But today (Friday), I reached the office in 20 minutes because there was less traffic,” he said.
Creative executive Rosman Kasiman, 35, from Taman Perling, said traffic was relatively smooth as there were no school buses on the roads or parents sending their children to school.
But, he added, there was a downside to the off-day as he found it difficult to get a parking bay when he returned to his office at the City Square shopping centre after returning from the mosque.
“The shopping complex was crowded with families and their children, unlike previously when Friday was a working day,” added Rosman.
Policeman Badrul Hasnan, 25, from Taman Mutiara, said he took the new weekend as an opportunity to bring his parents, nieces and nephews to the Johor Zoo
Johoreans happy with Friday rest day
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BEHOLD, THE NEW IS ALMOST HERE!
FROM 1 JANUARY 2014, THE WEEK-END IS ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY FOR GOVERNMENT SERVANTS, AND SATURDAY AND SUNDAY FOR ALL OTHERS.
BEHOLD, THE PROBLEMS COME, TOO!
Star
Monday December 30, 2013 MYT 6:35:46 AM
Friday weekend leads to topsy-turvy world for JB families
JOHOR BARU: It will be a topsy-turvy world for some families when Johor reverts to Friday and Saturday as the weekly rest days come New Year.
This is due to the state’s proximity to Singapore, where many Malaysians go to work with Saturday and Sunday as off days.
Finance manager Michelle Chow, 43, said: “I am disappointed that Sunday will not be our family day anymore,” she said, explaining that while she works in Johor Baru and her children – aged seven and nine – study here, her husband works in Singapore.
Siti Suriani Jemal, 38, an administrative assistant with a property developer, said she worries about 11-year-old daughter Nur Amirah Batlisya, a Year Five pupil at SK Taman Perling here, would be at home alone on Friday as she and her husband work in Singapore.
“The babysitter has already told us she will not be available on Friday.”
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Meanwhile, it will be business as usual for most companies in Johor as they are likely to maintain the Saturday-Sunday weekend.
SMI Association of Malaysia national president Teh Kee Sin said its members welcomed the call by Association of Banks in Malaysia for banks in the state to operate from Monday to Friday.
Most of our members prefer to maintain Saturday and Sunday as the weekly off-days,” said Teh.
Friday weekend leads to topsy-turvy world for JB families
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Malaysian Insider
Banks maintain Saturday, Sunday as rest days in Johor, says association – Bernama
December 06, 2013
The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) said today the Johor State Secretary’s office has confirmed that it has no objection to commercial banks continuing to observe Saturday and Sunday as rest days.
There are 17 ABM member banks with branch operations in Johor.
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The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) is not positive about the change in rest days.
- POSTED: 23 Nov 2013 18:15
Johor’s change in rest days “comes at a bad time”
SINGAPORE: Malaysia’s Johor state has announced that from January 1 next year, the state’s rest days will be on Fridays and Saturdays instead of Saturdays and Sundays.
The Singapore Business Federation (SBF), whose members have business ventures and investments across the Causeway and in the Iskandar Malaysia region, said the decision by the Johor state comes at a bad time, when links are increasing between Malaysia and Singapore.
SBF feels the move could make Johor slightly less attractive as an investment destination.
Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, SBF’s CEO Ho Meng Kit said the move will make business more inefficient.
He explained: “For example, if you have a Singapore company with a Johor subsidiary, there will now be only four working days which are aligned. So if you are going to transfer goods and services between the HQ and the subsidiary, you could only do it on four days (Mondays to Thursdays).”
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For the business federations in Singapore, one of their key concerns is linking the operations of some of their subsidiaries in Johor with those in other Malaysian states or cities like Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
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Mr Kurt Wee, vice-president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said: “The shortcoming is that even if the Johor workforce, economy, banks (are operational) on Sunday, the rest of the surrounding economic centres – Singapore, Kuala Lumpur – are not working that day. So…it’s not going to be as effective a workday.”
– CNA/ir
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/johor-s-change-in-rest/897366.html
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BANKS
The Association of banks (ABM) which represents Affin Bank, Alliance Bank, Ambank, Maybank, Hong Leong Bank, Standard Chartered, Public Bank, RHB Bank, OCBC Bank, HSBC Bank and CIMB, will wait to see how the private sector responds before deciding on which rest days to adopt.
The Johor Association of Chinese Chambers of Commerce hopes banks and private business can maintain the Monday to Friday work week.
Malaysiakini
Banks undecided on operating hours in Johor
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Malaysiakini
The Johor Association of Chinese Chambers of Commerce welcomes the change on rest day in Johor from Sunday to Friday, as long as private sector and banks keep the status quo.
According to association president Tan Seng Leong, this would mean reverting to how it was prior to 1994, when the rest day for Johor was changed from Friday to Sunday.
“In the 1990s, the private sector in Johor worked Monday to Friday while the civil service and schools were off on Friday and Saturday.
“We are requesting that the government allows the same arrangement now,” Tan said, adding that the business sector should not be compelled to pay overtime to those working on Friday. Johor Baru Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Loh Lian Hiang said the most crucial thing is for banks to stay open on Friday.
“Before 1994, the banks closed on Friday. But it was fine as Johor did not have much industry then.
“Now we have more industry, including in the Iskandar region involving international investors, and some trade cannot wait for three days,” Loh said.
‘Let Johor private sector stick to Saturday, Sunday’
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Malaysiakini
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.
Private sector in Johor given option to decide on rest days
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Star
Sunday November 24, 2013 MYT 6:48:49 AM
Christians seek time off for Sunday services in Johor
PETALING JAYA: The Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) will seek time off for Christians in Johor to fulfil their religious obligations on Sundays following the change of the state’s rest days to Friday and Saturday.
“We will request for time off for both workers and students to attend church services on Sunday,” said CCM general secretary Rev Dr Hermen Shastri.
Hermen, who is not from Johor, said he does not know how Christians in the state managed or went to church prior to 1994 when Friday and Saturday were non-working days.
Christians seek time off for Sunday services in Johor
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Star
Sunday November 24, 2013 MYT 8:46:34 AM
Businesses divided over Friday-Saturday weekend
JOHOR BARU: Businesses are divided over the switch to a Friday-Saturday weekend in Johor although it is optional for the private sector whether or not to adopt it.
The Iskandar Regional Development Authority does not foresee any problem resulting from the change.
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Johor Indian Business Association president P. Sivakumar said the members depended on foreign investments and the change could affect them because most financial institutions worldwide closed on Sunday.
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South Johor SME Association chairman Teh Kee Sin said the change could be “to a certain extent” inconvenient, but companies would just have to reorganise their operations accordingly.
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The Johor Federation of Malay NGOs Coordinating Council applauded the change taking effect on Jan 1.
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In Petaling Jaya, The Malaysian Employers Federation said that companies with international clients would be affected by the Johor weekend switch, and called on bosses in Johor to be flexible with their work and rest days.
Businesses divided over Friday-Saturday weekend
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Malaysian Insider
Switch in rest days may affect our revenue, say business owners in Johor
By TRINNA LEONG and YISWAREE PALANSAMY
November 23, 2013
Despite Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Khaled Nordin’s confidence that the switch in the state’s rest days to Friday and Saturday will not have a huge effect on the state’s economy, commerce groups say otherwise.
The change in the state’s rest days to Friday and Saturday would inadvertently affect businesses, said these groups.
Moving away from the usual Saturday and Sunday observed by most companies locally and internationally would reduce business opportunities, they said.
“You will only have four business days to communicate with companies elsewhere and get things done,” said Tan Sri Lim Sing, vice-president of the Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM).
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“Iskandar Malaysia attracts major foreign investments and globally, Saturdays and Sundays are recognised as weekends,” said P. Sivakumar, president of Johor Indian Business Association.
He said Singapore, especially, has invested heavily in the project and the decision would not please Singaporean firms with business dealings across the straits.
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Malaysian Insider
Johor MB confident weekend switch will not affect the state’s economy – Bernama
November 23, 2013
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Khaled Nordin said he is confident that the switch of the state’s rest days, from Saturday and Sunday to Friday and Saturday, effective next year, will not have huge effect on the state’s economy.
This, he said, was because those having Sunday as their rest day could still make dealings with the state government as Sunday would be a normal working day for state government employees.
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For Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) chief executive Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, investments in the area would continue as usual and Irda would improve its system to accommodate the needs of investors.
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The communication manager of Puteri Harbour Traders Hotel in Nusajaya, Aidah Abd Rahman, believed that the switch would boost the state’s travel industry.
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Malaysiakini
Johor will officially change its weekend to Friday and Saturday beginning next year.
Johor Sultan Ibrahim Ismail announced this in Muar this morning, according to Sinar Harian today.
It’s official: Johor moves weekend to Friday
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Malaysian Insider
Sultan declares Friday, Saturday as rest days in Johor from January 1
Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has declared that the state’s rest days will be on Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday from January 1, a move that would have implications for the fast growing Iskandar economic corridor.
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Currently, states such as Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu have put Friday and Saturday as their off days.
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Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd had poured in billions for the Iskandar zone, which has been fashioned after Shenzhen in mainland China, across from Hong Kong.
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But the new rest days could affect future investments as it is not in sync with neighbouring Singapore or other states in the west coast of the Malay peninsula. Among businesses and services that could be affected include banking and international colleges that cater to students from the island republic.
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Saturday November 23, 2013 MYT 12:14:38 PM
Friday and Saturday are weekend rest days for Johor from Jan 1
MUAR: Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar has declared the change of the state’s rest days to Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday from next year.
The much anticipated decision was announced during the investiture ceremony on Saturday in conjunction with his 55th birthday .
In his speech at the event held at Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim in the royal town, the Sultan said that the change of weekend would take effect from Jan 1, 2014.
He said the decision to change the weekend holidays was made after receiving feedback from various quarters and to allow Muslims to preform their religious obligation on Friday in a more peaceful manner.
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weehingthong 
In true fact, a reality true fact, it benefits both. Some will benefit from Sat-Sun weekend off and some will benefit Fri-Sat weekend off. In a way to say, Johoreans have choice to balance their work schedule and family commitment. As rest days has now increased to 3 days for relaxation from hectic work schedule, which spread over 3 days a week, instead of tradition 2 days, it is up to the family members that are affected to make necessary changes. The tradition Sat-Sun weekend off have created massive traffic congestions during weekday working hours, and the new change could be blessing in disguise. I am sure folks over there can cater to this new change. Just get to acclimatize as life must go on. No point to complain about it. Maybe it is better.