Friday, December 31, 2010

Out with 2010, in with 2011!

It's time to say goodbye to 2010, and welcome to 2011.

If 2010 wasn't what you hoped it would be, I wish you a fantastic 2011! On the other hand, if 2010 was wonderful for you, here's wishing you continued happiness!!

See you on the flip side!


(Image: 2011 Natural)

Friday, December 24, 2010

2011 School Holidays - Malaysia

Welcome to Part 3 of the 2011 Holidays of Malaysia! We've covered the National and State public holidays,,, and now, on to the School holidays!

Did you know that most -- but not all! -- of the states in Malaysia go by the "usual work week of Monday to Friday with Saturday and Sunday as the weekend? The states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu -- read: the more, shall we say, conservative? ones -- have their work week start on Sunday, with Friday and Saturday being the weekend (this is in order to make sure Fridays are free for the mandatory communal prayer.

Back when I was a corporate drone, coordinating best meeting days/times between my company's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur with its branches/subsidiaries in Terengganu posed a lot of challenges; all too often I could only schedule meetings for Fridays, so the unfortunate CEOs and/or Plant Managers often had to sacrifice their weekend for me.

Where is this going? Well, the above explains why I have to provide you with two sets of School Holiday dates for Malaysia in 2011, one for Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu; the other for the rest of Malaysia. ... and here they are:

Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu
    School Commences : 2nd January 2010
    1st Mid Term Break : 11th March - 19th March 2011 (9 days)
    2nd Mid Term Break : 27th May - 11th June 2011 (16 Days)
    3rd Mid Term Break : 26th Aug - 3rd Sept 2011 (9 Days)
    End of the Year Break : 18th November 2011 - 31st Dec 2011 (44 Days)

All States Except Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu
    School Commences : 3rd January 2011
    1st Mid Term Break : 12th March - 20th March 2011 (9 Days)
    2nd Mid Term Break : 28th May - 12th June 2011 (16 Days)
    3rd Mid Term Break : 27th Aug - 4th Sept 2011 (9 Days)
    End of the Year Break : 19th November 2011 - 1st January 2012 (44 Days)


In case you didn't notice, as a result of the difference in how the week is divided, the school holidays of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu start a day earlier than the rest of the country.

I hope this helps with your holiday planning! Because, you really really really do NOT want to be a tourist in Malaysia during school vacation time! Trust me! :D

Image credit: 2011 by grietgriet

Thursday, December 23, 2010

2011 State Public Holidays - Malaysia

There are THREE sets of dates you should keep in mind when planning a trip in/around Malaysia: the national public holidays, the state public holidays, and the school holidays! Today we'll take a closer look at the state holidays: each state within the country has its own unique set of days off, so while the total of ~15 days is the same, the spread of those days can vary widely. Take a look for yourself:

    JANUARY
    1 (Saturday): New Year's Day 2011 Celebration
  • only for Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Labuan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak & Selangor
  • NOT for Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis & Terengganu

  • 11 (Tuesday): Hari Hol Almarhum Sultan Iskandar
  • only for Johor

  • 14 (Friday): Birthday of Tuanku Yang Di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan
  • only for Negeri Sembilan

  • 16 (Sunday): Birthday of Sultan of Kedah
  • only for Kedah

  • 20 (Thursday): Thaipusam
  • only for Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Penang, Selangor



  • FEBRUARY
    1 (Tuesday): Federal Territory Day
  • only for KL, Putrajaya, Labuan



  • MARCH
    4 (Friday): Anniversary of Coronation of Sultan of Terengganu
  • only for Terengganu

  • 30 (Wednesday) & 31 (Thursday): Birthday of Sultan of Kelantan
  • only for Kelantan



  • APRIL
    15 (Friday): Declaration of Melaka as A Historical City
  • only for Melaka

  • 19 (Tuesday): Birthday of Sultan of Perak
  • only for Perak

  • 22 (Friday): Good Friday
  • only for Sabah, Sarawak



  • MAY
    7 (Saturday): Hol Day of Pahang State
  • only for Pahang

  • 17 (Tuesday): Birthday of Tuanku Raja Perlis
  • only for Perlis

  • 30 (Monday) & 31 (Tuesday): Keamatan Harvest Festival
  • only for Labuan and Sabah



  • JUNE
    1 (Wednesday) & 2 (Thursday): Gawai Dayak Festival
  • only for Sarawak

  • 29 (Wednesday): Israk & Mikraj
  • only for Kedah, Negeri Sembilan & Perlis



  • JULY
    7 (Thursday): George Town Unesco World Heritage Day
  • only for Penang

  • 9 (Saturday): Birthday of Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang
  • only for Penang

  • 20 (Wednesday): Birthday of The Sultan of Terengganu
  • only for Terengganu



  • AUGUST
    1 (Monday): Awal Ramadan*
  • only for Johor, Kedah and Melaka

  • 17 (Wednesday): Nuzul Al-Qu'ran *
  • only for Kelantan, Pahang, Perlis, Penang, Perak, Selangor & Terengganu



  • SEPTEMBER
    10 (Saturday): Birthday of Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak
  • only for Sarawak



  • OCTOBER
    1 (Saturday): Birthday of Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Sabah
  • only for Sabah

  • 8 (Saturday): Birthday of Melaka State Governor
  • only for Melaka

  • 24 (Monday): Birthday of The Sultan of Pahang
  • only for Pahang



  • NOVEMBER
    7 (Monday): 2nd Day of Aidil Adha (Hari Raya Haji/Qurban) *
  • only for Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu

  • 22 (Tuesday): Birthday of Sultan of Johor
  • only for Johor



  • DECEMBER
    11 (Sunday): Birthday of Sultan of Selangor
  • only for Selangor



  • NOTES:
    * Subject to change based on moon viewings
    ** Whenever a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a public holiday


New (to me) additions in 2011: the George Town Unesco World Heritage Day, or Declaration of Penang as a World Heritage Site; and Thaipusam finally being a day off for Kuala Lumpur.

Wanna know the significance of these holidays? Stay tuned throughout the year, as a malaysian abroad will feature each holiday as it occurs.

Next, we'll list the schedule for the 2011 school holidays. Don't go away!

Image credit: 2011 by grietgriet

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

2011 National Public Holidays - Malaysia

Planning a trip to Malaysia in 2011? You would do well to take into consideration when public holidays (whether national or state) *and* school holidays are, because, well, things might get crowded and crazy! To help you out, here are the NATIONAL public holidays of Malaysia in 2011:

    JANUARY
    [none! because technically Jan 1st isn't a NATIONAL holiday! can you believe it?]

    FEBRUARY
    3 (Thursday) & 4 *** (Friday): Chinese New Year
    15 (Tuesday): Prophet Muhammad's Birthday

    MARCH
    [none!]

    APRIL
    [none!]

    MAY
    1 (Sunday): Labour Day **
    17 (Tuesday) : Wesak Day

    JUNE
    4 (Saturday): Agong's Birthday

    JULY
    [none!]

    AUGUST
    30 (Tuesday) & 31 (Wednesday): Aidil Fitri (Hari Raya Puasa) *
    31 (Wednesday): National Day (Hari Kebangsaan)

    SEPTEMBER
    16 (Friday): Malaysia Day
    [now this is a pleasant surprise to me... is Sept 16th FINALLY being elevated to a NATIONAL holiday? Yay! I gotta say, it's WAY overdue! Want the story? Check out my post on the day itself, okay?]

    OCTOBER
    26 (Wednesday): Deepavali

    NOVEMBER
    6 (Sunday): Aidil Adha (Hari Raya Haji/Qurban) * **
    27 (Sunday): Awal Muharram (Maal Hijrah) **

    DECEMBER
    25 (Sunday): Christmas


    NOTES:
    * Subject to change based on moon viewings
    ** Whenever a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a public holiday
    *** Except Kelantan and Terengganu



I hope that gives you a bit of a taste of what different events are marked at the national level in Malaysia. How many different religions, and religious events do you count? Do you know why?

The next two posts will help you further in your 2011 holiday planning: the list of Malaysian STATE public holidays, and, as important, the school holidays! Stay tuned!

(tinyurl for this post: http://tinyurl.com/36j87j9)
Image credit: 2011 by grietgriet