An official from Banque Saudi Fransi said that its top management had not received any communication from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) that Saturday would be a public holiday to celebrate Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s return to Saudi Arabia.
Another from the Saudi British Bank said the bank was expected to remain open on Saturday until further notice.
“There’s a lot of confusion about the announcements on Wednesday that Saturday would be a public holiday,” said Usman P. Navarro, country manager of the Philippine National Bank (PNB) in Saudi Arabia.
Navarro said he was unsure whether to ask his staff to report for work or not.
“Since the top management at the Arab National Bank-Telemoney has not issued a directive to us, I believe we’ll work on Saturday. Unless, of course, we receive word between now and Friday night that we need not report for work,” Navarro told Arab News on Wednesday night.
The public holiday had been announced by the press in time for the arrival of King Abdullah on Wednesday afternoon after a successful three-month long medical trip to the United States and Morocco.
There’s also confusion among embassies. For example, while the French and British embassies will be closed, a Philippine Embassy official said his mission had not received any communication whether it will be shut or not. “For this reason, I guess we’ll report for work on Saturday,” the official said.
There’s also confusion among schools. While many understand that government schools will be closed, even private schools will follow suit, such as the Saudi Arabian International School - Multinational Section and the Future Generation International School in Riyadh.
Hospitals are not expected to be closed. However, while expatriates will report for work at the Maternity & Children’s Hospital in Buraidah, Qassim, Saudi staff will not, a hospital source told Arab News.
