KOTA KINABALU: After being closed for over a month to foreign tourists, the city mosque here has started to welcome the group back following a set of dos and don’ts being applied.
The standard operating procedures (SOP) are being implemented following the controversial incident where two female foreign tourists were seen in a video recording, dancing provocatively in the vicinity with the mosque in the background.
This then led to the premise being closed to foreign visitors.
An observation by NSTP found international visitors started gathering at the information centre as early as 8am.
All visitors are allowed to enter the vicinity wearing appropriately covered attire, besides headscarves being prepared for those entering the building accompanied by guides who will brief them on Islamic history and the city mosque.
The mosque chairman Datuk Abdul Jamal Sakaran said in line with reopening its doors to foreigners, they plan to increase the numbers of tour guides so the numbers are sufficient to do full briefing for visitors.
“At present we have five or six guides to disseminate the information but this is not enough as visitors can reach up to 300 people every day.
“But we are planning to find guides who can speak in various languages to ease communication,” he told NSTP.
As of noon today, over 200 foreign visitors have visited the city mosque.
However, Abdul Jamal said the management plans to close the mosque from tourists visiting on Fridays starting this week, to allow for Friday prayers and to avoid traffic congestion.
“But this will be on a trial phase for a few months before we make a final decision (whether to continue keeping it close on Fridays).
“The city mosque management has also met over 60 tourism operators registered under the Sabah Tourism and Culture Ministry (Motac) office.
"We have asked them to provide detailed information (to their clients) on regulations to observe while visiting religious places to avoid untoward incidents,” he added.