The overlap of Malaysia Day and Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday (Maulidur Rasul) on September 16, 2024, raises the question of whether employees will benefit from an additional paid holiday on September 17.
Under the Employment Act 1955, employees are entitled to 11 paid public holidays annually. These include National Day, Labour Day, Malaysia Day, the birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and the birthday of the respective state Ruler or Yang di-Pertua Negeri. Malaysia Day, observed on September 16, is a compulsory public holiday, while Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday is classified as an optional holiday, not included among the mandatory 11.
According to Section 60D(1) of the Employment Act 1955, if a public holiday falls on:
(i) a rest day, (ii) any of the 11 gazetted public holidays, (iii) or any day appointed as a public holiday for that year under Section 8 of the Holidays Act 1951,
then the working day following immediately after the rest day or the other public holiday shall be a paid holiday.
The Ministry of Human Resources clarified on August 1 that Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday is considered an optional public holiday. As such, private sector employers who recognize it as a company holiday must provide a replacement holiday on September 17, in line with Section 60D(1) of the Employment Act 1955.
Alternatively, Section 60D(1A) allows for Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday to be substituted with another day off, as agreed upon between the employer and employee, rather than on September 17.
In summary, employers who do not typically recognize Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday as one of the 11 mandatory public holidays are not legally required to grant September 17 as an additional paid holiday.