YESTERDAY, Malaysians were taken by surprise when the Keeper of the Ruler’s Seal Tan Sri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad announced that Hari Raya will fall on Monday (May 2) instead of tomorrow as indicated by several calendars.
The sudden announcement of 1st Syawal falling today left many Muslims scrambling to do last moment shopping, tickling the funny bones of the community.
“Today is Labour Day, Syawal was born prematurely this year,” said user Khairul Hafidz.
User Fahmeeeee added: “Makcik and pakcik (Uncle and aunties) topic for day 1 Syawal this year gonna be a hot debate.”
Netizen Arif posted a TikTok video, showing how Malaysians were panicking over Hari Raya today, while Singaporeans will be celebrating 1st Syawal tomorrow.
Malaysian panic buying for 1st syawal vs Singaporean right now😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/U0JnFe5WTX
— Arif (@arifhaynes) May 1, 2022
While Malaysia and several other Gulf countries are celebrating Hari Raya today, “next-door neighbour” Singapore will be celebrating it tomorrow.
Niger, Mali and Afghanistan celebrated Hari Raya yesterday itself.
This year’s Aidilfitri celebration is particularly special as most Malaysians were unable to travel back to their hometowns for festivities in the last two years due to the movement control order (MCO) imposed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Nothing peculiar
On that note, several netizens took the sudden announcement by their stride and reminded Muslims that it was common for the community across the globe to celebrate festivities on different dates due to geographical issues.
User Azlan Mat Nawi said it was normal for several Middle Eastern to differ in their days when it comes to observing Ramadan and Syawal, adding there is nothing peculiar about it.
“Benda x kecoh jgn buat jd kecoh.. mmg dari dulu negara arab ni puasa awal sehari dari negara dari nusantara, jd depa blh raya awal sehari la dari kita.. jgn la duk buat pelik plk.. negara kita ni dh tau dh bila nk puasa dan raya, tgk ja kalender kuda, mng tarikh tu akan sama dgn pengumuman dari pemegang mohor2 di raja..”
(No need to create a fuss. It is common for several Arab countries to observe Ramadan and Syawal earlier than those in the Malay Archipelago. For Malaysians, just look at our calendars for details)
Netizen Eddie MFay remarked: “Arab saudi puasa awal 2/4.. malaysia puasa 3/4… arab saudi genap puasa 30hari… Insha’Allah, malaysia pun genap 30 hari…”
(Saudi Arabia started fasting on April 2 but we started on April 3. Hence, the Saudis completed their 30 days of fasting earlier. God willing, we completed it yesterday). – May 2, 2022
Pic credit: The Star
