PUTRAJAYA, 18 April 2023:
Regardless of whether the first day of Syawal – marking the start of Hari Raya Puasa festivities – falls on Friday (April 21) or Saturday (April 22), Malaysians are set to enjoy a four-day weekend from Friday to Monday.
The extra day off to create this long weekend was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today for Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, with the state administrations of Sabah and Sarawak expected to follow suit.
He said the extra day off was to allow those seeking to ‘balik kampung’ to better plan travel itineraries as the Syawal new moon sighting will be conducted on the evening of Thursday, April 20 or 29th of Ramadan 1444 Hijrah.
The date of Aidilfitri would then be decided by the Conference of Rulers and announced via the Office of the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal on Thursday evening itself – which could result in many scrambling – like last year – if 1 Syawal is declared to be on Friday.
Toll-free travel has also been declared for four days – Wednesday (April 19), Thursday (April 20), Friday (April 21) and Monday (April 24).
Further, traffic summonses issued before January 1 this year will be discounted to RM50 if paid between April 21 and May 21.
Essential food items will be offered at a heftier discounts at selected supermarkets and retail outlets under the Menu Rahmah campaign.