PETALING JAYA: Non-Muslim places of worship located in “green zones” nationwide will be allowed to open starting June 10 - the day after the conditional movement control order is scheduled to be lifted.
However, Senior Minister (Defence) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, said all religious rites must be conducted in strict adherence to the standard operating procedures.
“There must not be more than 30 devotees inside the house of worship at any one time, subject to its size,” he said at his daily media briefing on the Covid-19 pandemic yesterday.
In addition, he said, senior citizens aged 70 and above, and children of 12 years old and below are not permitted to attend.
Body temperature screening, the use of hand sanitisers and the wearing of face masks are also part of the SOP, he added.
Permission to enter these houses of worship will only be granted to Malaysians, and they will only be opened for one or two days in a week, depending on the requirements of the respective religions.
“For example Christians go to church on Sundays, so churches may open only Sundays,” he said. However, he stressed that weddings are still not allowed at these premises.
Ismail Sabri stated that if there is a violation of the SOP, the relaxation of rules will be retracted immediately.
He said that to date, the government has allowed 174 places of worship nationwide to reopen, namely 84 Hindu temples, 15 Chinese temples, 67 churches and eight gurdwaras, making up only 1% of all the houses of worship nationwide.
