Dec 13 a public holiday for Selangor and Kelantan only
PETALING JAYA: Selangor and Kelantan have declared Dec 13 as a public holiday in the two states, but the day is not a federal holiday.
For Selangor, the state government has declared the day as a replacement state holiday.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said that Sunday Dec 11 was a state holiday because it is the royal birthday of the Sultan of Selangor.
The next day is automatically a state holiday, but since Monday, Dec 12, is Maulidur Rasul, which is a national holiday, Dec 13 has been declared a replacement state holiday, he said in a statement yester-day.
In Kota Baru, the Kelantan government declared the day a holiday to enable the public to celebrate Sultan Muhammad V’s journey to the state capital to take up the Agong’s post.
Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmd Yakob announced this after chairing the weekly exco meeting yesterday.
He said that the holiday was to enable the Sultan to meet his subjects before he departed for Kuala Lumpur to take over as the 15th Agong, replacing Sultan Kedah Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah.
Ahmad said he and the entire state dignitaries would be accompanying Sultan Muhammad V to Kuala Lumpur.
In a related development, the office of the Chief Secretary to the Government has denied it had issued a statement declaring Dec 13 a federal public holiday, as reported on social media.
It said in a statement yesterday that Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa never issued such a statement.
“The Chief Secretary to the Government did not issue the statement and Dec 13, 2016, is not a public holiday,” it said.
A message circulated on social media claimed that Ali had declared Dec 13 an additional federal public holiday in conjunction with the Sultan of Kelantan ascending the throne as the 15th Agong.
The message also claimed that the additional holiday was declared under Section 8 of the Holidays Act 1951 (Act 369) for Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan while Sabah and Sarawak could take such action in accordance with their laws. — Bernama
