No change to Johor weekend holidays - Menteri Besar

The Johor state government on Friday quashed talks that the weekend holidays for the state may be changed yet again.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the matter did not arise at all although it was a hot topic of discussion in social sites.

"There is no such thing. Don't believe in rumours spread via social sites," he told reporters after opening the 'Road To MAHA' programme at Dataran Penggaram, here today .

Starting January 1, the state weekend holidays were changed from Saturday and Sunday to Friday and Saturday, in line with the command from the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim.

The change to Friday was to enable Muslims to perform Friday prayers with comfort, Sultan Ibrahim said at his birthday celebration in November last year.

Talks that the weekend holidays would revert to Saturday and Sunday as practised before January 1 surfaced two weeks ago.

Prior to 1994, the weekend holidays in Johor were Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, Khaled said the state government was committed to develop agriculture and agro-based industries to make Johor a major food producer for the country.

Other than redevelopment of vacant land, the state government was planning to develop Segamat district as a hub for agriculture and agro-based industries.

"The Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry will be asked to develop a master plan."

The state government had given aid worth RM11.2 million to 2,558 entrepreneurs via the Entrepreneur Promotion Programme from 2002 to 2011.

Khaled said 40 entrepreneurs had recorded sale of more than RM250,000 annually.

This prompted the state government to give another RM1 million to the programme this year.