Sunday 20 / July / 2025
MUSCAT: Be honest, were you at your desk yesterday as you were supposed to be? Or did you join the masses who failed to show up?
The late announcement of the new year holiday in Oman created a “complicated” situation for business in the country as people were caught napping, a chamber of commerce member told Times of Oman.
Omanis expecting Sunday to be a holiday had already left for their village homes on Thursday as they geared up for a long weekend, said Ahmed Al Hooti, an Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) member.
The announcement on Saturday night that the moon had not been sighted and that the holiday would therefore be on Monday caught many by surprise.
Al Hooti said it was difficult to expect people to return for one day’s work under such circumstances, after travelling hundreds of miles out of the city to be with extended family.
The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs (MERA) created 25 moon sighting committees on Saturday night, spread across Oman, in a bid to give clarity as quickly as possible.
However, despite this major undertaking they were unable to sight the moon and so made the announcement at 7pm that Monday, not Sunday as expected, was to be the holiday.
Officials, company bosses and sales companies echoed the fact that the situation had created challenges for the private sector.
“Late announcement of change in holiday has complicated our day. Many business institutions in the private sector were affected due to low attendance.
“Moreover, as the holiday in Oman is often not aligned with neighbouring countries, trade with them is also affected,” said Al Hooti. “We agree that religious norms should be followed but the holiday announcement could be made in advance. Many employees working in Muscat are from interior areas. They had left Muscat on Thursday presuming that Sunday would be a holiday,” Al Hooti added.
News of the holiday on Times of Oman’s official Facebook page reached 283,302 readers with 46,000 likes and 1,400 shares when it was filed.
Some colleges in Oman had already informed their pupils that Sunday and Monday would be holidays.
Caledonian College of Engineering had sent SMS messages to its students declaring Sunday and Monday a holiday, while Sohar University announced on its twitter handle that Sunday will be a holiday.
Schools such as Knowledge Gate International School in Al Seeb also told staff and pupils it would be closed on Sunday.
Sultan Qaboos University and Majan College students said that the lecture halls “were almost empty”.
“Only seven students out of 40 showed up today,” a student at Majan College said.
A student at the Higher College of Technology also said many students didn’t come today.
“Some people are not at home and that is why they will not come back for one day when the next day is a holiday,” he added.
The Indian School in Muscat (ISM) had issued a notice to parents much in advance on the holiday announcement stating that the school will remain closed for new year, as declared by the Oman government.
A senior manager in a well-reputed company said that transactions with banks were affected.
“Staff strength is somewhat okay, but banking deals are affected as we were expecting a holiday which got pushed by one more day,” the senior manager added.
However, an industrialist said that the business community should have made necessary arrangements to deal with such situations.
“Everyone knew that the official holiday would be either Sunday or Monday. So, to avoid trouble, they should have been prepared,” Anvwar Al Balushi, chairman of the Anwar Asian Investment Group, said.
Anvwar added that his child was informed by the school to be prepared for a change in holiday and he was.
“He did his homework and was prepared to go to school. People should be prepared. Such situations don’t occur often,” he added.
A senior sales representative working with a leading furniture company said it was a disappointing day as the majority of his clients were absent at their offices.
“I couldn’t meet my clients at almost half of the offices I went today. It was a disappointing day. Tomorrow also, it will be the same,” the sales representative added.
The decision to make Monday a holiday seems to have played into the hands of many, who’ve extended their weekends to enjoy four days off at the start of October.
“My colleagues are working today, but I am not!” said one man enjoying time with friends at a mall.
Another person said that he just skipped work today.
“There is a saying: what happens between one holiday and another should be a holiday. Sunday is a working day, but Monday is a holiday, so I decided to follow the saying!”
“Tomorrow is also the holiday which I will spend with my family. I wrote my boss a letter and told him I was sick today,” another holiday-maker added.
Meanwhile, the unofficial holiday has seen a significant decrease in traffic on the roads.
“Traffic on the road is less today because people have not gone to work,” said one taxi driver.
