By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Oct 9: Sarawak is proposing an automatic replacement-holiday rule to address overlapping public holidays, removing the need for separate notifications each time two holidays coincide.
Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar said the proposed amendment to the Public Holidays Ordinance would streamline the process by setting out how such clashes should be handled under the law.
“Every time it happens, you have a notification to clarify that. So this amendment will resolve that. There will be no more notification.
“Instead, this amendment will streamline any dates where two holidays are coincidental or colliding,” he told a press conference at the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) headquarters in Petra Jaya today.
The issue arose in 2025 when the second day of Gawai Dayak coincided with the birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
In 2026, Wesak Day fell on a Sunday, while the following Monday and Tuesday were already public holidays for Gawai Dayak, requiring a specific gazette notification to resolve the overlap.
Under the proposed amendment, when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be observed as a public holiday. If Monday is already a public holiday, the day after that will be observed instead, unless otherwise ordered by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri.
The amendment involves moving the existing provision on public holidays falling on Sunday from the First Schedule to Section 3, deleting the Second Schedule, and renaming and amending the Schedule.
Asfia said the existing Public Holidays Ordinance first came into force on Dec 16, 1946, with amendments made in 1953 and 1961.
“This one will update the Ordinance,” he said.
The Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill, 2026, will be tabled by Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali at the DUS sitting from Oct 12 to 21.
The Bill’s first reading is scheduled for Oct 12, followed by its second and third readings on Oct 13. — DayakDaily
