KANGAR: The Kangar Municipal Council (MPK) will not turn into Syariah police' despite being tasked with enforcing a ruling to suspend sales at night markets during Maghrib prayers, effective Sept 15.
Instead, the council will carry out monitoring tasks to make sure all traders and patrons halt trading activities for 15 minutes to observe the Maghrib prayers.
State Housing, Local Government, Human Resources and Poverty Eradication Committee chairman Asrul Aimran Abd Jalil said there is no issue of MPK becoming Syariah police, like in Acheh, Indonesia.
"It is more of making sure that the ruling is duly observed by deploying the MPK enforcement team on the ground.
"They will be there to make sure that there is no trading activity taking place during the Maghrib prayers, and they are not going to act as Syariah police" he told reporters at the Perlis State Assembly Complex here yesterday.
Last month, the Perlis government decided to temporarily suspend the night market (pasar malam) trading for 20 minutes to observe the Maghrib prayers effective Sept 15.
Under the ruling, night market traders must halt business transactions during the Maghrib prayers and resume between 10 and 15 minutes after the call to prayer (azan).
The aim is to facilitate Muslim traders, workers, and patrons to perform Maghrib prayers comfortably.
Meanwhile, MPK president Affendi Rajini Kanth in a statement said the ruling will be enforced in all night markets operated by the council and private entities in the state.
"The ruling begins 10 minutes before the azan (call to prayer) and another 10 minutes during the prayer time.
"All traders must pause their operations to observe the prayers," he said.
Affendi said patrons and traders are encouraged to perform their prayers in the surau available at night market sites in the state.
"We are also working on creating space for the public to perform prayers in areas which still don't have yet to have a surau or mosque nearby," he said.
Perlis will become the third state to enforce the ruling after Kelantan and Kedah.
Kelantan previously implemented a similar ruling in 2017, which also exempted non-Muslim traders from its enforcement.
Kedah became the second Perikatan Nasional-led state government to enforce the ruling effective May.