In a statement, the mosque management maintained that all its actions were based on guidelines and standard operating procedures issued by the authorities.

This comes after a netizen claimed in a viral video that a VIP had jumped the queue recently at the mosque.

“When the mosque has reached the maximum capacity of congregants, the management will close the main gate of the mosque to prevent those who come later from entering.

“For Friday prayers, the maximum capacity for congregants in Masjid Putra has been set at 300 people,” the mosque management said.

This includes a quota for permanent congregants who have registered earlier.

The management also said the number of congregants at the mosque for Friday prayers would usually have exceeded the limit by 11am.

Congregants had already been informed and advised on the matter.

“However, the management will do its best to provide the best services to our congregants, who come from various backgrounds,” it said, promising to improve the quality of management.

Meanwhile, religious affairs deputy minister Ahmad Marzuk Shaary said his department would probe the viral video and was awaiting an official explanation on the matter from the mosque’s management.

He maintained that all congregants should be treated equally and that there should be no “elite (kayangan) cluster” at mosques.

“Even I will need to queue when I’m at the mosque. The most important thing is that congregants should come early to get a spot,” he said, according to Bernama.