The Selangor State Government has declared 25 October 2026, which falls on a Sunday, a public holiday in conjunction with the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Sultan of Selangor’s reign.
Now, this holiday is declared under Section 9 of the Holidays Act 1951, not Section 8.
Let me explain the difference between Section 8 and Section 9.
Section 8 allows the Federal Government to declare additional public holidays and it’s compulsory for companies to observe. For example, the additional Hari Raya public holiday declared by the Prime Minister earlier this year.
Section 9, on the other hand, allows State Government to declare public holidays within their respective states but not necessarily compulsory for companies to observe. For example, the special SUKMA holiday in Selangor on 1 September, and now, the Sultan’s Silver Jubilee on 25 October.
But here’s when things get confusing.
Many of you told me, “Aunty, the news said that under Section 60D of the Employment Act, employers must give replacement leave on Monday!”
I saw the news too, and I was like… excuse me!
If you read Section 60D(1)(b) carefully, it specifically refers to additional public holidays declared under Section 8 of the Holidays Act 1951, not Section 9.
There is no equivalent provision automatically making every additional Section 9 holiday compulsory.
However there is Section 60D(1A) that says If your company has already published its list of observed public holidays, generally, the employer is not required to give this holiday, even the offer letter says all public holidays are observed.
Okay, now that we’ve settled the legal part, I want to play devil’s advocate.
First – to Employers.
I want to give bosses three reasons why you should seriously consider giving this additional holiday.
- How many times in a lifetime does a Sultan celebrate 25 years on the throne? If you tell me you don’t want to observe the SUKMA holiday, I can still accept that. But this is a rare and special occasion, so give face lah to our Sultan!
- For many of us, Sunday is a Rest Day and if this holiday is observed, Monday becomes the replacement holiday. People already have Monday blues. Now imagine your employees coming to work on Monday 26th October. They will not say anything to your face, but behind you, hmm… the private chat groups will be VERY BUSY!
- It’s just one day. Everybody has been working so hard, the haze is driving everybody crazy, and sometimes a little goodwill goes a long way.
Next – to Pekerja-pekerja sekalian.
If your employer genuinely cannot afford to give this additional holiday for whatever reason, don’t immediately declare war!
Remember, before this holiday was announced, you were already scheduled to work that Monday anyway, kan?
If you get it, fantastic! It’s a bonus! If you don’t… okay lah… life goes on. Takkan you nak go report your boss and potentially strain your working relationship over one day.
So, here’s my conclusion.
Employers – just because the law doesn’t require you to give something, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.
Employees – just because you don’t get something you hoped for doesn’t mean you’re being treated unfairly.
Sometimes, we all need to give each other a little grace to promote workforce harmony.
You think about it, k!
xoxoxo, AuntyHR
