Manama: The waiting time between the call to prayer and the performance of the prayers in Saudi Arabia’s commercial malls should be reduced from the current 25 minutes to five minutes, representatives from two ministries and from the business community reportedly agreed.
The convergent views were expressed as the delegates from the labour and social development ministry, the commerce ministry and businesses were discussing ideas related to the decision to shut down malls and shops throughout the kingdom by 9pm.
The suggestion for the reduction of the waiting time, granted to enable people to reach the mosques and to do the ablutions required for the prayers, was made by business people as a way to deal with the possibility that shops will not remain open late as usual, Saudi daily Okaz reported on Wednesday. Malls suspend their activities during the prayers.
One participant suggested that the reduction of the working hours should be introduced gradually to make both traders and the society get accustomed to shopping activities ending earlier.
Another participant said that the decision to close early would affect competition since some sectors would benefit at the expense of others.
Restaurants will be among the great losers, a representative of the sector said, adding that their business depended on serving lunch and dinner and that the 9 pm closing time meant no dinner would be on offer.
Another participant said that pharmacies open 24 hours are set to benefit from the decision to shut early, explaining that 80 per cent of their sales were related to cosmetics and only 20 per cent to medicine. Cosmetics shoppers would head to pharmacies after the regular shops are closed, he said.
During the discussions, traders suggested that the closing times for shops should not be fixed and should depend on the seasons, citing the examples of other countries.
They warned that a drop in the sales figures could push some investors to seek out other countries where they could deploy their capital.
The proposal to have all shops closed by 9pm was thrust into the limelight in 2014 and immediately led to an intense debate given that its implementation would have an enormous impact on the Saudi way of life where 11pm rush hours and night shopping and social activities are common.
Under the proposal, shops throughout the kingdom will be allowed to open between 6am and 9pm.
Recreational centres, restaurants and coffee shops will remain open until midnight on weekdays and until 1pm during the weekend and holidays.
The only exceptions will be in Makkah and Madinah, the two sacred cities that never sleep due to the high number of people from Saudi Arabia and abroad who visit them for pilgrimage. The municipal council will decide the timings for the two cities.
Ramadan, the month of fasting during which Saudis traditionally stay up very late, will also have different timings, but the proposal suggests a 2am limit, except for restaurants to allow people to get food before they start fasting before Fajr (dawn) prayers.
A special decision will be made regarding the places and services that need to remain open and available for 24 hours.
Saudi labour officials said that the new regulations were part of an ambitious plan to reform the labour market with a focus on boosting local employment opportunities and motivating Saudi men and women to join the private sector instead of insisting on securing a job in the more attractive public sector where employees have less working pressure and more days off.
Saudi Arabia is home to around nine million foreigners, mainly unskilled workers from Asian countries in the construction and service sectors. They make up around one-third of the country’s total population.
