Lyna Mohamad
Hundreds of Indonesian nationals filled the courtyard of the Indonesian Embassy in Brunei Darussalam to perform Aidilfitri prayers on Monday.
The prayers were conducted in accordance with the health protocols such as temperature checks at the entrance, wearing face masks and bringing own prayer mats.
In addition, in adherence to the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) regulations, children under 11 were not allowed to attend, and only those who registered in advance and showed a negative ART result were allowed to enter the premises.
Indonesian Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Dr Sujatmiko in a speech conveyed the embassy’s latest progress and activities, especially related to the protection of Indonesian citizens (WNI) and Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) in the Sultanate.
The ambassador also reminded Indonesian citizens to implement a healthy lifestyle and maintain cleanliness. “We are still living in an endemic atmosphere of COVID-19 in Brunei. The outbreak is not completely over and for that, we must remain careful. Let’s keep our distance, wear masks and obey health protocols. Immediately report and self-isolate if you feel symptoms of infection.”
The prayers commenced with Takbir led by Zulfan Firosi Zulfadhli, and continued with the announcement of Infaq and Sadaqah collected during Ramadhan.
The imam was H Armawi Abdul Rahman while the khatib was Dr Haji Muhammad Zakir Husain, who is an Indonesian lecturer at the Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali.
In his sermon, Dr Haji Muhammad Zakir called for congregants to continue pious acts, maintain five daily prayers, be grateful in life and strive to be better.