JOHOR BARU – Forty-seven private Islamic institutions in Johor Baru, which have yet to register with the Johor Islamic Religious Department (JAINJ), have been urged to temporarily closed their premises for 14 days as the district has been declared as Covid-19 red zone.
State Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Tosrin Jarvanthi said the institutions include tahfiz centres, private religious schools, madrasahs and pondok have been ordered to close from today until November 14.
“Some of these 47 institutions are in the process of registering with JAINJ.
“Hence, we expect all 47 institutions to adhere to the guidelines set by JAINJ, failing which, the department will not hesitate to take action against them,” he told reporters after inspecting Maahad Johor, following the declaration of Johor Baru as a Covid-19 red zone.
Tosrin said a total of 372 students of Maahad Johor have now vacated the hostels and returned to their hometowns.
Meanwhile, Tosrin said the mosques and surau in the district are still open and all religious activities continued as usual.
However, he stressed that the management of mosques and surau must comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by JAINJ.
“Thus far, there are no recent instructions to close the mosques or surau, while the number of congregants still remains at one-third of the size of the mosques or surau.
“However, in the event of Covid-19 positive case detected in a mosque or surau, and after obtaining instructions from the Health Ministry, we will take appropriate measures to curb the spread of this virus,” he said. – Bernama, November 1, 2020
