JEDDAH — Two ministries have agreed to reduce the shop closing time for night prayer to five minutes instead of 25 minutes. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development, the Ministry of Commerce and Investment and businessmen have all agreed to cut the closing time from 25 minutes to five minutes in order to conform to the regulation to close all stores and shops by 9:00 p.m., said Assistant Director General of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment's Makkah branch Saleh Al-Shimrani. "In fact, businessmen and women have called for reducing the closing time in all prayers from 25 minutes to five minutes, especially for shops and stores in shopping centers. The suggestion was presented at a workshop held at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) on Tuesday," said Al-Shimrani. The workshop was called to study the effects of applying the new regulation to close all shops and stores by 9:00 p.m. It was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Labor and Social Development including the inspection consultant of Jeddah Labor and Social Development Directorate Abdulmohsen Al-Qarni, the Ministry of Commerce and Investment as well as businessmen and businesswomen. Al-Shimrani said the new regulations should be applied gradually. Al-Qarni said the new regulation will cut the number of workers. Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Shopping Centers Committee Head Mohammad Alawi said he that he was not aware of any official document stating that all shops and stores should close at 9:00 p.m. He said that if such a regulation is implemented, pharmacies will be the worst affected because they are usually open 24/7. "Some 80 percent of the products in pharmacies are related to cosmetics, only 20 percent are pharmaceutical and medical products, said Alawi. Businessman Mohammad Al-Andijani said the Ministry of Labor and Social Development should have different shopping hours for different seasons of the year as is in most countries. Ghassan Abdullah, a restaurant owner, said that restaurants will also have a big loss from the decision. Businessman Ayman Mohammad said that the decision cannot be applied across the board.
