Malaysia declares May 9 election day a national holiday

The Malaysian government has issued a statement declaring Wednesday May 9 as an additional public holiday, after the election commission designated the day as the polling day for the upcoming general election.

"The public holiday is to facilitate the Malaysian people to fulfill their obligations as voters," the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

Authorities had previously announced that the polling day would be Wednesday 9 May, the first time a general election has been held on a weekday since 1999. At that stage, it was intended that the day would remain a normal working day. Initially deputy home minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed had said that there is no need to declare the polling day a public holiday, as existing laws require employers to give their employees time off work to vote.

More than 120,000 people signed a petition asking the Malaysia King to declare May 9 a national holiday to make it easier for Malaysians to return to their hometowns to vote.

The eastern Borneo state of Sarawak, conducted its state election in 2017, but has also declared 9 May as a public holiday. "Following the announcement by the Election Commission that polling day for the 14th general election falls on Wednesday, May 9, the state government has decided that an additional public holiday be declared throughout Sarawak on that day to enable the rakyat to exercise their democratic rights to vote," the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement on Thursday (April 12).

Sabah government announced that May 9 will be an additional public holiday to allow the people there to cast their votes. State secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman in a statement said this was in line with the federal government declaring May 9 an additional public holiday.