Bernama TV: Working Around the Clock during Ramadan

The Muslim world tends to reduce working hours during Ramadan, giving employees an opportunity to concentrate on their worship during this blessed month of the Islamic calendar. Working hours are often reduced to thirty-six hours per week, and in some cases, employees come in to work a little later during the summer and leave a little earlier during winter months. Whichever way one looks at it, Muslims tend to spend less time in the office during Ramadan, especially if they live and work in Muslim-majority countries.

In Malaysia, few changes in working hours take place from year to year. In general, the public sector closes offices an hour earlier, and in the corporate world, changes are at the discretion of the employer.

For Bernama TV, Malaysia’s twenty-four hour international news and current affairs station, things are a little different.  Government-owned Bernama does not shut down to allow its staff to arrive home before iftar. Ramadan has no impact on signal transmission, nor upon the organizational hours of Bernama, which has been in operation since 2008.  “Twenty-four hours means that there are people working around the clock,” says hard-worked editor Zulkifli Othman, who doubles as a producer of the network. “For operations staff there is no change to working hours.”

Breaks for the five obligatory prayers are built into the system, and since there are no major time changes across Malaysia, prayer times remain consistent throughout the year. However, some Ramadan-centric factors do affect the staff.

The crew on duty must accommodate their observance of Ramadan around the scheduled broadcast deadlines, adhering to suhoor, iftar and tarawih prayers should they fall during an employee’s work hours. This happens automatically and conscientiously, however, so the normal pace of a dynamic news room is not altered from the culture practiced during the rest of the year. After twenty years of experience in the media industry, Othman does not believe that Ramadan affects productivity of the team in any other way. Work remains work, which is also an important part of worship. Worship can always continue without shirking the responsibilities of one’s job and organization.

“Having said that however,” he continues, “Muslim support staff such as those in the administrative department and those who attend to the news library are given shorter working hours, as their meal breaks are also shortened.”

While keeping attentive around the clock may be cumbersome for some, many Muslims step up on productivity, making Ramadan even more worthwhile, as the Holy Month is well-endowed with blessings.

“During Ramadan,” Othman continues, “tarawih prayers are held in the prayer-room and is always well-attended. Other than that, [outside] corporations usually sponsor iftar meals at the cafeteria on most days of the month.”

To establish camaraderie between the staff and that no one on the reel is left out, Othman adds, “Non-Muslims are always welcomed to join us for the breaking of the fast.” Thirty percent of Bernama’s employees are not of the Islamic faith.

Even with work, suhoor, iftar and tarawih running into each other at the station, Bernama TV manages to provide additional opportunities for the spiritual welfare of the team. For those who wish to participate in ibadah-camps while at work, the station has its own Religious Affairs Department that holds special talks on religion during the fasting month.

Despite the challenges inherent in running a round-the-clock news station, Bernama TV manages to strike a keen balance between work and worship, blending Ramadan smoothly into its fast-paced work culture.