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

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