How public holidays work across Malaysia's states

In Malaysia, a holiday isn’t always a nationwide affair. While some people enjoy a day off, others quietly head to work. How did that happen, and what does it mean for locals?

Why aren’t holidays the same for everyone?

Malaysia is more than a single country on paper; it’s a federation of 13 states and 3 federal territories. Each state can set its own public holidays. There are national dates—New Year’s Day, Labour Day, Ramadan and others—marked across the country. But alongside them, states add local holidays that apply only in specific places.

Where you live is where you celebrate

Take 1 February, Federal Territories Day. It’s observed only in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan. In the neighboring state, it’s a normal workday.

Good Friday is another example. It counts as a public holiday only in Sabah and Sarawak, where many Christians live. Elsewhere, everything stays open.

Some holidays grow directly from local traditions. Sarawak celebrates Gawai Dayak, a harvest festival. Sabah marks a similar celebration, Kaamatan. Both are official days off only in those particular states.

What if you work across regions?

That’s where it gets tricky. If a company has offices in different regions, one location may be off while another runs as usual. The same goes for schools, banks, deliveries—everything. Even if you’re just working with a Malaysian company, it’s worth checking their schedule and which state they’re in. This patchwork suits a diverse country, but it does demand a bit of coordination.

How not to get lost?

To keep track of who’s off and where, people use dedicated calendars. Online, you can pick a state and immediately see its public holidays for the year.

It’s also important to know that if a holiday falls on a weekend (for example, on a Sunday), the break shifts to Monday. That’s a day in lieu. These carry-overs happen almost every year.

What does this mean for everyday life?

For Malaysians, it’s just how things are. They know their local calendar and aren’t surprised if a neighboring city is open for business.

Visitors and those working with Malaysian companies, however, need to stay alert. Different days off can affect delivery times, banking hours, government services and more. Even with remote work, the state your partner is in can make all the difference. A small detail, but it often decides how smoothly things run.

And there’s some uncertainty

While the dates themselves are clear, it’s not obvious who exactly in each state decides which holidays to adopt. An official, explanatory list of decision-makers wasn’t found. So new holidays can appear without much warning, and people simply adjust. The system works, just not without the occasional surprise.