KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — To say that Hari Raya eve last year was chaotic would be an understatement. Razak Daud, who lives in Felda Jengka, remembers all too well when it was announced that Aidilfitri would fall one day earlier than expected in 2022.
He said that since he married, cooking beef and chicken rendang has been customary for the joyous day to mark the end of Ramadan. Last year, for the first time, he never got the chance.
“Last year was an eye-opener. We didn’t cook any rendang dish because that night when it was announced Raya would be early, it felt like everyone was at the supermarket, hoarding all the fish, chicken and beef.
“Some of us couldn’t buy it. It was finished right after midnight,” the 61-year-old farmer told Malay Mail.
Alyssa Husna Muhd Hamdan, 27, of Batang Kali, had the same experience — except it was lemang rather than the rendang that usually accompanies the former.
“We always buy it on the night before, but last year, since everyone was panicking with the announcement. There was no lemang.
“The guy who usually sells it is not there to open his stall. It’s understandable, maybe the guy was also panicking,” she related when met at the busy Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman’s Aidilfitri night bazaar here.
It was a similar experience for sisters Syahirah Nabilah, 29, and Siti Khadijah, 25, from Taman Ibukota in the capital, who were also at the bazaar.
“Our whole family panicked because we hadn’t bought any ingredients and we started the engine immediately and rushed to the market but the worst thing was when we found out our cooker ran out of gas — only after buying everything else.
“That was the real panic moment for us. Fortunately, there’s a shop that was open until late night,” Syahirah Nabilah told Malay Mail.
Why the discrepancies in Raya dates?
Muslims use the lunar calendar for their religious dates, and the start of each month is determined either by sighting the new moon (rukyah) or astronomical calculations (hisab).
Therefore, the date of Aidilfitri — the first day of the month of Syawal — can differ from country to country, based on whether they use hisab or rukyah, which was Malaysia’s official method.
Yesterday, the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal Tan Sri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad announced that Aidilfitri this year would be on Saturday, after the crescent moon could not be observed.
Last year, Aidilfitri was calculated to fall on May 3. However, in Malaysia and some other countries, the new moon was sighted after sunset on May 1 — therefore signalling the end of Ramadan and the start of Syawal.
As a result, Hari Raya Aidilfitri in Malaysia was celebrated on May 2, one day earlier than expected. In Singapore, where the new moon was not sighted, Aidilfitri was celebrated on May 3 according to calculations.
The announcement last year by the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal on May 1 that Aidilfitri would fall on the next day caught many by surprise — leading to the Malay jocular name of “Raya terkejut”, or “shock Raya”.
With just hours left to prepare for Raya dishes, crowds desperately swarmed grocery stores and supermarkets last year for essential goods, having left things late in the belief they still had one more day to shop.
Some who had planned to leave for their hometowns on May 2 also had to quickly change their plans and head home that night, causing traffic jams in several places.
Razak recalled how his three daughters, all working in Kuala Lumpur, were panicking like him as they rushed back to Pahang to be home in time for Hari Raya.
“I was worried about my children. As soon as it was announced, I called them up to ask whether they could go back in time for Raya? They all said yes. They had to go through traffic on highways, especially the Karak highway.
“One of my children came home as late as the dawn, just a few hours before the Hari Raya prayers. It was a mess, I tell you,” he said.
The last time such confusion happened on a similar scale was in 1982 when Perak and Johor celebrated Aidilfitri earlier by a day due to decrees from their sultans, and in 1971 when both Malaysia and Singapore celebrated on different days.
This year, the question of whether Aidilfitri would fall on April 22 as calculated or earlier came up following a remark earlier this month by the United Arab Emirates-based International Astronomy Centre saying that Ramadan may end on April 20.
It has since revised its statement this week saying that it may be impossible to sight the new moon on April 20 — so Aidilfitri would fall on April 22 as calculated.
As for Indonesia, where adherents usually follow the rulings of major Muslim groups, the modernist Islamist group Muhammadiyah had decided back in February that Aidilfitri would fall on April 21.
Anticipating difficulties in preparation, the Education Ministry announced earlier this month that the school holiday would start on April 19 instead of 20, so teachers would have an extra day to return to their hometowns.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also announced earlier this week that either Friday, April 21 and Monday, April 24 would be a public holiday, depending on the actual date of Aidilfitri.
Once bitten, twice shy
For those interviewed by Malay Mail, however, they were adamant they would not get caught by “Raya terkejut” again this year.
“I will buy all the ingredients that my wife is going to make two days early and will keep it in the freezer. I advised my children to be here in Jengka on Thursday, April 19. This way, whatever the date of Aidilfitri. It will be just like the same way we celebrated years before 2022.
“The feeling is not the same when it is incomplete. You must have your family and the traditional dish served as it is Malaysian culture,” Razak said when interviewed last week.
The women I met at the bazaar also shared the same sentiment, with Syahirah saying her family would buy the ingredients either on Wednesday, April 19 or Thursday.
“Any dishes that we plan to make for Hari Raya, we’ll buy the ingredients and gas cooker on Thursday just to be safe. We all want a smooth celebration,” said Siti Khadijah.
“I’ll buy the instant lemang packs from the supermarket just in case this thing happens again,” Alyssa said.
The traders interviewed by Malay Mail also said they would be more prepared this year.
Datuk Seri Ameer Ali Mydin, the managing director of the local giant hypermarket Mydin, told Malay Mail that his branches in Kelantan and Terengganu had ordered additional supplies since they faced increased demands last year.
A spokesman from the Malaysian Retail Association (MRA) also said that while the crowd in their members’ outlets always swell during Raya eve, last year the chaos was actually caused by those who were rushing home after learning that the celebration would fall one day early.
Klang-based tailor Rosminah Awang said she remembered how some of her customers who already planned to pick up their outfits a day before Raya, had to reschedule — leading her to field a flurry of phone calls that night.
“I still remember that more than 20 of my customers called me that night and said that they were willing to come to my house and pick it up themselves. I don’t have a proper store and most of the customer’s clothes, I keep them in my house where I operate my tailor shop.
“I think one or two of my customers even came to my house around 2am and told me that they are heading straight back to their hometown,” the 65-year-old said.
This year, Rosminah said her customers were more well-prepared, with all of them promising to pick their outfits at the latest two days before the expected date of Aidilfitri.
“Maybe they have learnt their lesson this time,” she said, chuckling.
