THERE were differences of opinion among the public regarding the Ministry of Labor and Social Development's proposal of closing shops, except pharmacies, restaurants and recreation centers at 9 p.m. Some have supported the idea while some others have strong reservations against it. The move aims at creating a suitable working atmosphere for Saudi men and women and encouraging them to work in the retail trading sector, which is currently dominated by expatriate workers. A number of media organizations have conducted surveys on the ministry's proposal and the result was that most respondents did not support it for many reasons including high temperature in the summer and the Saudi family's custom of doing shopping in the night. Businessmen and economists who opposed the move said the proposal would reduce sales at big shopping malls and would have a negative impact on the country's economy. On the other hand, supporters believed the 9 p.m. closure would enhance people's energy, reduce traffic in the night and cut short security issues. Moreover, it will create more job opportunities in the retail sector for Saudis who would be happy with the new working hours. Every decision and proposal will have its positive and negative aspects. Everybody looks at things with the intent whether it satisfies his/her interest. We see that most Saudis, especially those living in major cities sleep late in the night and observe huge traffic after midnight, particularly on weekends and holidays. I would not be exaggerating that Saudis who go to bed at 1 a.m. would be considered among those who sleep early. I don't know how these people get up in the morning to reach their work places. In the past people used to go to work places such as shops and farms soon after performing Fajr prayer. They used to take rest in the afternoon for an hour before returning to their work places after Asr prayer. They will continue to work until Maghreb prayer and go to bed soon after Isha prayer. This was the custom and tradition of Saudis in the past. Westerners follow the same timings even in this modern age. The Holy Qur'an says: "We have made the night as a covering and we have made the day for livelihood." (Qur'an 78:10-11) Unfortunately, our society has taken this Qur'anic version upside down as they consider the night for livelihood and the day for sleeping as a result of the chaos created by shopping centers. Most shops in the Kingdom do not open in the early morning and some of them open at 4 p.m. Our society has abandoned its pure nature and dealt with modern civilization in a haphazard manner. This has affected the health and productivity of people. The ministry's proposal to close shops at 9 p.m. is an attempt to reorganize the job market, cut unemployment rate and help employees get their right. The proposal has social benefits in addition to health, security and environmental advantages. Parents will get more time to spend with their children. There may be other proposals in the future like closing most shops for the whole day. Some writers and experts have belittled the impact of the opposition and proposed a midway solution that would satisfy all parties like closing shops at 10 p.m. as people would get more time for shopping considering the special situation of Saudi families. Although I am opposed to this new proposal I believe that it can be implemented without affecting the ministry's proposal. We keep the closure of shops at 9 p.m. as the rule while allowing shop owners to remain open until 10 p.m. in the summer. The main objective of changing the summer time is that people would be able to go to work early by one hour and will get more time at the end of the day for shopping and other activities. Actually we are losing one hour during the summer when the sun rises early. We could have advanced the time for starting office hours in the summer to 7 a.m. from 8 a.m. Some people may object to this change as it would affect their routine work and prayer and fasting times. However, we can still change the official working hours by advancing them one hour starting at 7 a.m. without changing the local time. This can avoid many of the negative aspects relating to closing shops at 9 p.m. as employees would be able to leave their offices and work places early and get more time for shopping and other activities. Shops should also open in the early morning hours.
