Johor is the southernmost Malaysian state, bordering Singapore. It is Malaysia’s third-largest contributor to the economy in 2023, responsible for achieving a value added of RM148.2 billion.

The capital city of Johor, Johor Bahru (JB), is also strategically located a short driving distance of twenty-nine minutes from Singapore. With special joint initiatives made by the Singapore and Malaysian governments, namely Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) and the Special Financial Zone (SFZ), the state is poised to become one of the most attractive and lucrative markets within the region.

In short, it has the ability to attract foreign investments and multi-national corporations in order to boost the local economy. It did, however, fall short in one significant department, which may have detracted potential investors.

Up until Monday 7th October this year, the state has subscribed to having Friday and Saturday as official ‘weekend’ days off for their academic and government work calendar. This meant parents in the private sector would have the typical Sat-Sun days off, while their children would have Fridays off and go to school on Sundays.

This is because historically, Malay culture has placed considerable importance on Friday as a holy day as Malays are predominantly muslims. In Malaysia, Islam is a religion that has become institutionally and politically synonymous with the Malay cultural identity. It is socially expected and mandatory for Muslim men to perform the Friday prayers.

The new policy will become effective from 1st January 2025, where the state will realign its weekends to the globally conventional Saturday-Sunday approach. Johor regent Tunku Ismail Ibrahim announced this change, reversing the policy made by the current Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar in 2014, with his consent.

Most stakeholders including the state government, businesses and families have welcomed this change. Many parents, especially commuters who work in Singapore, believe this new schedule would promote better work-life balance. This would also equalise the rest days for workers in the public sector with those working in the private sector.

However, the reversion of this policy is not met with complete celebration. Not all companies will be changing their operating hours in response to this arrangement. Many are still inclined to follow the Fri-Sat arrangement, allowing muslim staff members to take the whole day off to observe the Friday prayers.

One politician in particular, Member of Parliament for Pasir Gudang (a district in Southern Johor) Hassan Abdul Karim, has been vocal in keeping the previous arrangement. He highlights that for most of Johor’s history, the state had observed Friday and Saturday as official weekend rest days.

He continued, that it was only in 1994 when former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin switched its weekends to Saturday-Sunday, having been the state’s chief minister at the time.

In response, Tunku Ismail states that “if there are parties upset or dissatisfied due to personal agendas, want to provoke the people or have political interests, you are welcome to move to a state that still has Friday and Saturday as weekends.”

Johor has vested interest in going forward with this arrangement, despite some protests and the inevitable bureaucratic transition which may take some time for all stakeholders to get used to. This is especially true for school children and teachers who may find the change slightly daunting at first, as the state reverses an eleven-year policy.

Aznan Tamin, a state education and information committee chairman, comments that this change will impact 587,373 students and more than 48,000 teachers in Johor’s public schools as they begin to restructure the academic calendar.

With a strong overall support from the state government, local businesses, and Johoreans, the state would gain a favourable economic advantage as they align their economy to global standards.

According to Dr. Lee Hwok-Aun, a Senior Fellow and Co-ordinator of Malaysia Studies Programme with ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute, said it is a “win-win for families and businesses” as there will be “no more ‘wasted’ Fridays and Sundays”.