Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2023: How to avoid the rush in Malaysia and Singapore

by Najua Ismail

AFTER two years of muted celebrations due to COVID-19, Malaysian and Singaporean Muslims last year welcomed the news that Hari Raya Aidilfitri festivities would be almost entirely free of pandemic-related restrictions. That joy and eager anticipation soon turned into chaos following another announcement, which threw a spanner in the works of Raya prep.

Instead of the first day of Aidilfitri falling on 3 May as many had anticipated, the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal announced on the night of 1 May that it would be celebrated the very next day! Needless to say, that left families and folks out of town scrambling.

Not to mention the announcement also left our Muslim folks who were residing and working in Singapore missing out on 'first-day festivities' if they had to travel back to Malaysia for celebrations.

So what happened?

Sighting the moon

"In Malaysia, the Rukyah and Hisab methods, which are based on the Imkanur Rukyah criteria, are used to determine the beginning of each month," says Jamali Mohd Adnan, Federal Territories Deputy Mufti.

Imanur Rukyah, he explains, in Arabic means the "possibility of seeing something". So, the beginning of every new month in the Islamic calendar is marked by the possibility of a moon sighting.

This is determined by several different factors, including the position of the new moon in the sky at sunset, and the distance between the moon and the sun.

"Last year, the data on the sighting of the moon was borderline. It almost fulfilled the Imkanur Rukyah criteria. But the chance of visibility was 50/50; not quite fulfilling the criteria, although there was a possibility of a sighting," Jamali says.

That, however, is unlikely to be the case this year, as data indicates a very low possibility of the new moon being seen on the scheduled sighting date of April 20.

Jamali notes further that the actual date for Hari Raya is determined by the Keeper of the Ruler's Seal after receiving the complete sighting report. As such, Muslims should leave it to fate, and be prepared for all eventualities.

Adds the religious leader: "I would also like to remind all Muslims to quickly fulfil your obligations to pay zakat fitrah (alms for charity) and not wait until the last minute."

For the record, the Malaysian government is expected to celebrate the first day of Hari Raya on Sat, April 22. However, schools are closed from Wed, April 19 in anticipation of Raya coming early.

And if an early celebration does happen, you should expect there to be a mad rush, especially on Malaysia's highways.

Travel right

Getting caught in traffic snarls is inevitable given the number of vehicles expected on the road every festive season, Julie Ong of coach service Aeroline Malaysia says.

In fact, this year, PLUS Expressways Berhad, Malaysia's largest highway concessionaire, is anticipating that about two million vehicles will traverse its network of highways during the Hari Raya period.

But Ong points especially to travel between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and notes that gridlocks are to be expected at the Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints, regardless of whether or not Malaysia and Singapore kick off Raya festivities on different days, like last year.

As an interesting side note, however, Aeroline — which operates coaches between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and Kuala Lumpur and Penang — reportedly did not feel the impact of the date discrepancies in that there was no ostensible rush for tickets.

Muhammad Sufian Achmad, a senior tour coordinator with Transtar Travel, which also offers coach services and makes eight trips a day between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, says the situation was relatively similar with his company.

That being said, there were 10 or so people travelling from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur who wanted to change their travel dates. Don't take seat availability for granted, though, he says.

"If possible, try to purchase your tickets early."

What about the other things?

Besides travel plans, there are also other things that you may want to take note of so you don't end up feeling unprepared during the festivities

In other words, attempt to tick all the items on that Raya checklist of yours as soon as you can. Here are just a few things you ought to look into:

Clothes and Raya goodies

On the topic of clothes, whether you're shopping off the rack or sending some fabric to the tailor, don't leave things to the last minute.

You might not find anything that catches your fancy if you're looking to get your Raya outfit off the shelf, especially if you are a picky person.

Dropping by the tailors late may also not net you your shiny new clothes in time, as they may be busy fulfilling all the last-minute orders.

Same goes with the Hari Raya goodies, place your cookie orders early. Bakers and cookie makers, like so many others, get bombarded with orders on special occasions like Aidilfitri.

If you've placed your orders early, also remember to pick them up in advance because the outlets may close earlier in the week due to.......well, Hari Raya.

Freshly made home-cooked food

Yes, there is no way you can make rendang and ketupat in advance if you want them served fresh on Raya morning.

But you can prep the ingredients beforehand, and get to the cutting, mincing, mixing and blending on the night of the Raya announcement.

And if you do have to wait another night, chopped onions, garlic and mixed spices will keep in the fridge for another day.

What to do with your pets

If you're not planning to travel with your pet(s), make arrangements for them to be taken care of, whether by friend, relatives or at a dedicated boarding facility. Note that you aren't allowed to freely bring your furry friends across borders if you are traveling between countries.

Beth Nur Hamisyah, Operations Manager at Catzonia, a cat boarding hotel, warns, however, that all of its branches were fully booked for Raya boarding by the first day of Ramadan this year. So that may well be the case with other facilities too.

Do take note though, many places insist that pets are dropped off before the first day of Raya.

The reason for that is to reduce the anxiety for both the pet owners and pets (especially cats).

So regardless of when the new moon is sighted, it will be a stress-free Aidilfitri for all parties concerned if the pets are dropped off early.

In a nutshell, plan ahead to avoid the Raya panic like last year, and more importantly, so that you can fully enjoy the coming festivities with a clear head, minus the drama.

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