At Mydin USJ1 here, there were no large crowds inside the mall, but cars were moving slowly in the parking area as some customers arrived for last-minute shopping while others hoped to rush home to their families.
Ridzwan Muhamad, 29, told FMT he had just swung by to pick up some Raya cookies before buka puasa, with food already prepared at home in advance.
Originally from Kedah, he said he was “really sad” about not being able to see his family, as he hadn’t returned home to see his siblings and mother for two years.
“In March, they said those who got their second dose of the vaccine might be allowed to travel. I was hoping to get mine but things haven’t progressed the way we expected, so it’s quite disappointing.”
Asnah Birih, 44, at the mall to take away food for her family, shared the disappointment about another Raya away from her hometown.
While her husband and teenage children couldn’t return to Sabah every year, they managed to visit Asnah’s mother just before the last Hari Raya.
“It’s just going to be a quiet Raya here. I’ll cook some special meals, but other than that we’ll just sit around as a family, we don’t have much planned.”
Over at Ampang Point, mere hours before the final day of fasting month wound to a close, most stores were relatively quiet, as was the atrium market.
“It was much more crowded earlier this afternoon, I think now most people have already gone home for buka puasa,” said Ms Wong, selling watches amid baju melayu and food stalls.
She said she was not surprised by the last-minute shoppers who had come through during the day.
“This is the last day of this market, after this we all go back to our regular stores.”
However, while shoppers were few and far between, Giant Supermarket was bustling with the line extending almost until the entrance to the mall.
With sunset approaching and the line moving slowly, one anxious shopper was overheard joking about the dwindling time.
“At this rate, we’ll have to buka puasa in Giant,” they laughed.
Markets around the country also saw a busy day in the morning as people lined up to buy meat and other needs for the Hari Raya feast tomorrow.