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PETALING JAYA: The government should not declare extra public holidays in addition to those already gazetted as it costs the economy some RM3 billion for each added day, said Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai.
He said according to Wikipedia, Malaysia ranks among the top five of 195 countries with the most public holidays, adding that granting unscheduled holidays puts additional burden on businesses.
“The government should just stick to the public holidays that have been gazetted and not declare additional ones.
“Unplanned public holidays disrupt production and supply chains, and cause productivity losses to businesses.
“Given that most economic sectors are just picking up after the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic uncertainties due to geopolitical tensions, rising prices, climate change and expectations of a global recession, unscheduled holidays such as the recent additional one for Hari Raya add to the cost of doing business,” he said.
However, several employers and those who returned to their hometowns during the long break said in the case of Hari Raya, declaring the additional holiday was the right decision as there was uncertainty regarding the start of the celebration period.
Also, the additional holiday allowed many to leave for their hometowns earlier, thus reducing traffic congestion.
An employer, who wanted to be identified only as Ong, said: “The prime minister made the right decision. Many of my staff could leave for their hometowns earlier and that helped reduce the hours-long traffic congestion on the North-South Expressway”.
“Yes, it may be inconvenient for businesses, but it is not every day that such additional holidays are declared,” he added.
Nur Nadrah Nadia Mohd Zuki, 24, said the additional holiday provided extra preparation time for the celebration.
“Last year’s Hari Raya was hectic with last-minute preparations, and I was hoping to not go through the same experience this year. The additional holiday allowed me just enough time to clean the house and prepare everything necessary for the celebration,” she said.
Nurul Atiqah Syafika Nadzri, 24, said she was able to reach her hometown just in time to help her mother with the preparations for Hari Raya.
“I come from Besut in Terengganu and I work in Kuala Lumpur. Even with the sudden holiday declaration, it still took slightly longer for me to reach my hometown.
“However, compared with going back on the scheduled holiday, my trip home this time was much more pleasant as I could spend more time with my family,” she said, adding that traffic volume was also much lower compared with previous years.
However, Soh said not all employees were willing to work overtime to meet their employer’s obligations to customers, adding that unscheduled public holidays contribute to a major loss to the national economy.
“It is estimated that RM3 billion in direct and indirect losses are suffered for each day that is declared a public holiday, including the cost of business interruptions and extra pay incurred by employers who are unable to shut their operations.
“Employers will be forced to either replace the public holiday on another day or pay their workers the public holiday rate.”
He said according to Section 8 of the Holidays Act 1951, the prime minister, by notification in the Gazette or in such other manner as he deems fit, can make any day a public holiday.
“However, the industry has limited choices on how to accommodate and manage such announcements considering that (holidays declared under) Section 8 of the Holidays Act 1951 must be observed as a paid holiday,” he said.
Soh added that the government should encourage employers to grant such holidays as an add-on to the leave entitlement of employees.
He also said for holidays falling on weekends and having another day added on was not an issue for employers, as they are already aware of it and can preplan their production processes.
“Industries around the world are expecting an uninterrupted flow of components manufactured in the country to meet their supply chains. It is time Malaysia adopts world standards in work-life balance and ensure a predictable business climate,” he said.
Source: https://www.thesundaily.my/local/extra-public-holidays-costs-industries-rm3b-a-day-fmm-EM10944099