Overview

• Rules taking effect this week allow up to two years in jail and a RM3,000 fine for a single missed Friday prayer without a valid reason.
• Authorities plan enforcement through mosque signboards, public reports and religious patrols working with the Terengganu Islamic Affairs Department.
• Previous practice penalised only three consecutive absences with a maximum of six months’ jail or a RM1,000 fine.
• The penalties are imposed under Terengganu’s Shariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) Enactment, first passed in 2001 and toughened in 2016.
• Rights advocates and Malaysian lawyers condemned the move as a violation of religious freedom, with AHRLA’s Phil Robertson urging Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to revoke the penalties.