PUTRA Mosque in Putrajaya reopened its doors to non-Muslim visitors today after three days of closure over fears of the novel coronavirus spread.

A mosque spokesman told The Malaysian Insight the grand imam had ordered the mosque to allow tourists to enter.

“The grand imam gave the order, and as of today visitors are allowed in again,” the spokesman said.

The closure since Sunday was over concerns for the health of mosque officials in view of the large number of tourists during the Chinese New Year public holiday

“There was some concern that the Chinese New Year would bring a  larger number of visitors than usual. 

“We were worried about close contact between people and also because our staff were not ready with preventive measures.

“So, we made the decision to close the mosque temporarily,” the spokesman said.

The mosque has now equipped its staff and security personnel with masks and hand sanitiser, he added.

The lunar new year holiday, which began on Saturday, has so far recorded more than 2,000 visitors to the mosque in one day, compared to the 1,000 normally received on an ordinary day, the spokesman said.

The Putra Mosque, a major tourist attraction in the administrative capital, announced its temporary closure to non-Muslim visitors from 2pm on Sunday, and that it would only be opened for prayers.

This led to calls by Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association (Mita) chairman Uzaidi Udani urging tourist spots not to discriminate against Chinese tourists.

Putra Mosque’s move to bar non-Muslim visitors had affected the itinerary of Chinese tour groups after they were denied entry, Uzaidi had said.

Yesterday, Tourism, Arts and Culture minister Mohammaddin Ketapi said tourist attractions should remain open. – January 29, 2020.