“The Kelantan state government is duly elected by its people. And that is what the people of Kelantan want (the closure of shops for Maghrib prayers), so they implement it.

“The state government is doing something that in their eyes is in line with the wishes of the people who are in favour of it,” the New Straits Times quoted Mustapa as saying.

However, he added: “If the Kelantanese do not like the idea, perhaps they can reject it later on. But they like it that way now and it is a popular move.”

Kelantan is governed by PAS.

On April 17, the Kelantan government said a policy requiring traders to stop their activities during the Maghrib prayers also applied to non-Muslims.

State local government, housing and sports committee chairman Abdul Fattah Mahmood told FMT that all businesses must stop their activities for 10 to 15 minutes when the azan (call to prayer) was heard.

The move has come under fire from various quarters, with Kelantan Peranakan Chinese Association president Lim Kham Hong saying that non-Muslims should not be forced to comply.

Amanah communications director Khalid Samad told FMT that it would now be harder for PAS to convince non-Muslims that Islamic laws would not affect them, following the Islamist party’s push for the strengthening of the shariah courts’ powers.