PETALING JAYA: The public holiday declared after polling in five states was not a mandatory paid public holiday, says the Human Resources Ministry.
In a statement on Thursday (Aug 17), the ministry said five state governments involved in the recent elections had declared public holidays.
They were Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu on Aug 13 while Selangor and Negri Sembilan declared a public holiday on Aug 14.
"The additional public holidays had been declared under Section 9 (1) of the Holidays Act 1951.
"This declared public holiday is not a mandatory paid public holiday as required under Section 60D (1)(b) of the Employment Act.
"However, employers are encouraged to provide paid public holiday to the employees involved," said the ministry.
The five states declared a public holiday following their respective state elections.
The only exception was Penang.
The Aug 12 elections saw the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional coalition retaining three states – Penang, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan – while Perikatan Nasional also retained Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.
