RANAU: The Ar-Rahman Mosque in town, which is almost completed, will be opened temporarily for worshippers to perform the Solat Sunat Aidilfitri on 1 Syawal this year.
This was announced by State Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
Masidi, who is also Karanaan Assemblyman, said the main hall of the mosque, which can accommodate up to 3,000 worshipers at a time, is ready for Aidilfitri prayers, and will be closed after that to allow finishing works to continue.
“The final works are expected to be fully completed within a month.
“This mosque construction project was supposed to be completed last year but was delayed due to the contractor’s failure to meet the deadline,” he told the media when contacted after visiting the mosque on Saturday.
The Ar-Rahman Mosque was demolished after suffering cracks and collapses due to the earthquake that occurred in 2015.
The mosque’s reconstruction project, which started at the end of 2017, was supposed to be completed in 2019, but was delayed following the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) after the country was hit by Covid-19, in addition to the contractor’s failure to continue the work afterwards.
The design of the first mosque in Sabah, built based on green technology and able to reduce the risk of earthquake tremors, cost RM11.15 million at the time using central government allocations
The mosque will also be equipped with electricity generation using solar energy and will also have office space, meeting rooms, galleries, ablutions, public toilets, funeral management rooms, public recreation and rest areas.
