diff --git a/deploy_microservices.sh b/deploy_microservices.sh
index d73d065323..49535115ea 100755
--- a/deploy_microservices.sh
+++ b/deploy_microservices.sh
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ gcloud run deploy peer-prep-user \
   --image gcr.io/g01-peer-prep/peer-prep-user:latest \
   --region asia-southeast1 \
   --allow-unauthenticated \
-  --set-env-vars "ENV=PROD,DB_CLOUD_URI=mongodb+srv://peer-prep:1EjJPR5eiyIwhIql@peer-prep-cluster0.ftsoh.mongodb.net/?retryWrites=true&w=majority&appName=peer-prep-cluster0,JWT_SECRET=you-can-replace-this-with-your-own-secret"
+  --set-env-vars "ENV=PROD,DB_CLOUD_URI=mongodb+srv://peer-prep:1EjJPR5eiyIwhIql@peer-prep-cluster0.ftsoh.mongodb.net/?retryWrites=true&w=majority&appName=peer-prep-cluster0,JWT_SECRET=you-can-replace-this-with-your-own-secret, TZ=Asia/Kuala_Lumpur"
 echo "peer-prep-user deployed successfully."
 echo "------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
 
diff --git a/peer-prep-user/user-service/Dockerfile b/peer-prep-user/user-service/Dockerfile
index ff6c4d99f5..94ee392fda 100644
--- a/peer-prep-user/user-service/Dockerfile
+++ b/peer-prep-user/user-service/Dockerfile
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 FROM node:18-alpine
 
 ENV ENV=PROD
-
 ENV DB_CLOUD_URI=mongodb+srv://peer-prep:1EjJPR5eiyIwhIql@peer-prep-cluster0.ftsoh.mongodb.net/?retryWrites=true&w=majority&appName=peer-prep-cluster0
+ENV TZ=Asia/Kuala_Lumpur
 
 # Set the working directory
 WORKDIR /app
@@ -11,8 +11,11 @@ WORKDIR /app
 # Copy package.json and package-lock.json (if available)
 COPY package*.json ./
 
-# Install dependencies
-RUN npm install
+# Install dependencies and set timezone
+RUN apk add --no-cache tzdata \
+    && ln -snf /usr/share/zoneinfo/$TZ /etc/localtime \
+    && echo $TZ > /etc/timezone \
+    && npm install
 
 # Copy the rest of the application code
 COPY . .