Public holidays in Malaysia: Difference between revisions

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There are two types of holidays in Malaysia, National and state levels. National holidays are normally observed by most governmental and private organizations. State holidays are normally observed by certain states in Malaysia or when it is relevant to the state itself.

In addition, Government agencies are closed every Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, government agencies are closed every Friday and Saturday.^[1]

Types of holidays

Malaysia has one of the highest numbers of public holidays in the world, ranking number seven in the top ten countries after Thailand, Indonesia, India and Hong Kong.^[2] Some holidays are federally gazetted public holidays and some are public holidays observed by individual states.^[3] Other festivals are observed by particular ethnic or religion groups, but are not public holidays. The main holy days of each major religion are public holidays, taking place on either the western calendar or religious ones.^[4]

Secular

The most widespread holiday is the "Hari Kebangsaan" (National Day), otherwise known as "Hari Merdeka" (Independence Day), on 31 August commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya. This, as well as Labour Day (1 May), the King's birthday (first Saturday of June) and some other festivals are major national public holidays. Federal Territory day is celebrated in the three Federal territories.^[4] Malaysia Day, held on 16 September to commemorate the formation of Malaysia, became a nationwide holiday in 2010. Before that it was celebrated only in Sabah.

Religious and ethnic

Muslim holidays are highly prominent in Malaysia. The most important of these is Hari Raya Puasa (also called Hari Raya Aidilfitri),^[5] which is the Malay translation of Eid al-Fitr. It is generally a festival honoured by the Muslims worldwide marking the end of Ramadan, the fasting month. In addition to Hari Raya Puasa, they also celebrate Hari Raya Aidiladha (also called Hari Raya Haji referring to its occurrence after the culmination of the annual Hajj or Hari Raya Qurban), Awal Muharram (Islamic New Year) and Maulidur Rasul (Birthday of the Prophet).^[4]

Malaysian Chinese typically hold the same festivals observed by Chinese around the world. Chinese New Year is the most prominent, lasting for 15 days^[4] and ending with Chap Goh Mei (十五瞑). Other festivals celebrated by Chinese are the Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Hindus in Malaysia celebrate Diwali/Deepavali, the festival of light,^[4] while Thaipusam is a celebration in which pilgrims from all over the country meet at the Batu Caves.^[6] The most important Sikh festival is the Sikh new year or Vaisakhi festival. Other important days are Lodi and Gurpurab. Other Indian and Indochinese communities observe their new year celebrations at around the same time, such as Pohela Boishakh of the Bengalis and Songkran (water festival) of the Thais. People in the northern states also hold the thai festival of Loy Kratong.^[7]

Wesak (Malay for Vesak), the Buddhist festival commemorating Buddha's birth, is a public holiday.^[4] Malaysia's Christian community observes most of the holidays observed by Christians elsewhere, most notably Christmas^[4] and Easter. Good Friday, however, is only a public holiday in the two Bornean states. The harvest festivals of Gawai in Sarawak and Kaamatan in Sabah are also important for East Malaysians.^[3]

New Year's Day, Chinese New Year, and the start of the Islamic calendar are all public holidays.^[4]

Participation

Despite most of the festivals being identified with a particular ethnic or religious group, festivities are often participated in by all Malaysians. One example of this is the celebration of Kongsi Raya which is used when Hari Raya Puasa and Chinese New Year coincide. The term Kongsi Raya (which means "sharing the celebration" in Malay) was coined because of the similarity between the word kongsi and the Chinese New Year greeting of Gong xi fa cai. Similarly, the portmanteau Deepa Raya was coined when Hari Raya Puasa and Deepavali coincided.^[8]

A practice known as "open house" (rumah terbuka) is common during the festivities, especially during Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Deepavali, Chinese New Year and Christmas. Open house means that all well-wishers are received and that everyone regardless of background is invited to attend.^[9] Open houses are normally held at the home of the host and food are also prepared by the host, however, there are also open houses held at larger public venues especially when hosted by government agencies or corporations. Also during the festivities, most Malaysians would take the time off work or school to return to their hometowns to celebrate the festivities with their extended relatives. This practice is commonly known as balik kampung and usually causes traffic jams on most highways in the country.^[10]

2013 Public holidays by states and territories ^[11]

Date	Name	JHR	KDH	KTN	KUL	LBN	MLK	NSN	PHG	PNG	PRK	PRS	PJY	SBH	SGR	SRW	TRG
January 1	New Year's Day				•	•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•	•
January 14	Negeri Sembilan State Ruler's Birthday							•
January 15	Kedah State Ruler's Birthday		•
January 24	Birthday of Prophet Muhammad	National
January 27	Thaipusam	•			•			•		•	•		•		•
February 1	Federal Territory Day				•	•							•
February 10–11	Chinese New Year (1st-2nd day)	National
February 12	Chinese New Year (3rd day)	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
March 4	Anniversary of Installation of Sultan of Terengganu																•
March 29	Good Friday													•		•
March 30 and 31	Kelantan State Ruler's Birthday			•
April 15	Declaration of Malacca City as Historical City						•
April 19	Perak State Ruler's Birthday										•
May 1	Labour Day	National
May 7	Hari Hol of Pahang								•
May 17	Perlis State Ruler's Birthday											•
May 24	Wesak Day	National
June 1 and 2	Gawai Dayak															•
June 1	Malaysia King's Birthday	National
June 6	Israk dan Mikraj	•					•				•
July 7	Declaration of George Town as World Heritage Site									•
July 9	First day of Ramadan	•	•				•
July 13	Penang State Governor's Birthday									•
July 20	Terengganu State Ruler's Birthday																•
July 26	Day of Nuzul Al-Quran			•					•	•	•	•			•	•
August 8 and 9	Hari Raya Puasa	National
August 31	Merdeka Day	National
September 8	Sarawak State Governor's Birthday															•
September 16	Malaysia Day	National
October 5	Sabah State Governor's Birthday													•
October 13	Melaka State Governor's Birthday						•
October 15	Hari Raya Aidiladha (1st day)	National
October 16	Hari Raya Aidiladha (2nd day)			•													•
October 24	Pahang State Ruler's Birthday								•
November 3 and 4	Deepavali	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•		•
November 5	First day of Muharram	National
November 22	Johor State Ruler's Birthday	•
December 11	Selangor State Ruler's Birthday														•
December 20	Hari Hol Sultan Johor	•
December 25	Christmas Day	National

Public holidays by states and territories

Date	English Name	Local Name	JHR	KDH	KTN	KUL	LBN	MLK	NSN	PHG	PNG	PRK	PRS	PJY	SBH	SGR	SRW	TRG
January 1	New Year's Day	Hari Tahun Baharu
January 27	Thaipusam	Thaipusam
February 1	Federal Territory Day	Hari Wilayah
February–March	Chinese New Year (1st & 2nd days)	Tahun Baru Cina (Hari ke 1)	National
February–March	Chinese New Year (3rd day)	Tahun Baru Cina (Hari ke 2)
March 4	Anniversary of Installation of Sultan of Terengganu	Hari Ulang Tahun Pertabalan Sultan Terengganu
March–April	Good Friday	Hari Jumaat Agung
April 15	Declaration of Malacca City as Historical City	Perisytiharan Bandar Melaka sebagai Bandaraya Bersejarah
May 1	Labour Day	Hari Pekerja	National
May 7	(Hari Hol of Pahang)	Hari Hol Pahang
May 24	Wesak Day	Hari Waisak	National
June 1&2	Gawai Dayak	Gawai Dayak
June 4	Malaysia King's Birthday	Hari Keputeraan Yang di-Pertuan Agong	National
July 7	Declaration of George Town as World Heritage Site	Perisytiharan George Town sebagai Tapak Warisan Dunia
August 31	Merdeka Day	Hari Kebangsaan	National
September 16	Malaysia Day	Hari Malaysia	National
November	Deepavali	Deepavali
December 20	(Hari Hol Sultan Johor)	Hari Hol Sultan Johor
December 25	Christmas Day	Hari Krismas	National
Muharram 1	First day of Muharram	Awal Muharram	National
Rabi' al-awwal 12	Birthday of Prophet Muhammad	Maulidur Rasul	National
Rajab 27	Isra and Mi'raj	Israk dan Mikraj
Ramadan 1	First day of Ramadan	Awal Ramadan
Ramadan 17	Day of Nuzul Al-Quran	Nuzul Al-Quran
Shawwal 1&2	Hari Raya Puasa	Hari Raya Aidilfitri	National
Dhu al-Hijjah 10	Hari Raya Qurban (1st day)	Hari Raya Aidiladha (Hari ke 1)	National
Dhu al-Hijjah 11	Hari Raya Qurban (2nd day)	Hari Raya Aidiladha (Hari ke 2)
Variant	State Ruler's Birthday	Hari Keputeraan	Nov 22	Jan 15	Mar 30			Oct 13	Jan 14	Oct 24	Jul 14	April 19	May 17		Oct 5	Dec 11	Sep 8	Jul 20
Total			19	16	16	17	16	18	16	18	20	18	16	17	18	16	18	17

Festivals of Malaysia

Hindu festivals

Buddhist Chinese festivals

Tribe Religion Festivals

Gawai
Kaamatan
Fiesta San Pedro
Kaul festival

Sikhs Festivals

Vaisakhi

References

^ Jadual Hari Kelepasan Am Persekutuan dan Negeri 2011, Laman Web, Bahagian Kabinet, Perlembagaan & Perhubungan Antara Kerajaan, Jabatan Perdana Menteri Malaysia
^ Public Holidays Malaysia: http://publicholidays.com.my
^ ^a ^b "Malaysia — Holidays". Go2travelmalaysia.com. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Marshall Cavendish Corporation (2008). World and Its Peoples: Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Brunei. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. p. 1221. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ "Festival of Malaysia ~ Hari Raya Puasa". Go2travelmalaysia.com. 2010-09-11. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
^ "Festivals of Malaysia ~ Thaipusam Festival". Go2travelmalaysia.com. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
^ Ben van Wijnen. "Loi Krathong". Malaysiasite.nl. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
^ "The English Teacher" (PDF). Malaysian English Language Teaching Association. 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
^ "Religion". Matic.gov.my. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
^ "Ripple effect of the festive rush". New Straits Times. September 7, 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
^ http://publicholidays.com.my/2013-2/

External links

Malaysia Public Holidays 2013: A full list of Malaysia Public holidays & School Holiday
2012 public holidays: A full list of holidays by state
"Malaysia — Holidays" Klikholidays.com

[1] Jadual Hari Kelepasan Am Persekutuan dan Negeri 2011, Laman Web, Bahagian Kabinet, Perlembagaan & Perhubungan Antara Kerajaan, Jabatan Perdana Menteri Malaysia

[2] Public Holidays Malaysia: http://publicholidays.com.my

[goto1-3] "Malaysia — Holidays". Go2travelmalaysia.com. Retrieved 2010-09-15.

[Marshall-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Marshall Cavendish Corporation (2008). World and Its Peoples: Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Brunei. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. p. 1221. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[5] "Festival of Malaysia ~ Hari Raya Puasa". Go2travelmalaysia.com. 2010-09-11. Retrieved 2010-09-15.

[6] "Festivals of Malaysia ~ Thaipusam Festival". Go2travelmalaysia.com. Retrieved 2010-09-15.

[7] Ben van Wijnen. "Loi Krathong". Malaysiasite.nl. Retrieved 2010-09-15.

[8] "The English Teacher" (PDF). Malaysian English Language Teaching Association. 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2010-09-15.

[matic1-9] "Religion". Matic.gov.my. Retrieved 2010-11-08.

[10] "Ripple effect of the festive rush". New Straits Times. September 7, 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-18.

[11] ttp://publicholidays.com.my/2013-2/

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@@ Line 94: / Line 94: @@
 | July 9 || First day of [[Ramadan]] || • || • || || || || • ||  || || || || || || || || ||
 |-
-| July 14 || [[Penang]] State Governor's Birthday || || || || || || || || || • || || || || || || ||
+| July 13 || [[Penang]] State Governor's Birthday || || || || || || || || || • || || || || || || ||
 |-
 | July 20 || [[Terengganu]] State Ruler's Birthday || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || •

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