Long weekends aplenty next year

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians will enjoy nine long weekends, amounting to 30 vacation days, next year.

This does not affect the total number of work days next year — which still stands at 251 days.

But it does not take into account state holidays, which differ from state to state.

Counting those occasions, people in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Johor, Kelantan, and Sarawak will have one extra long weekend.

Those in Kedah, Sabah, Labuan and Malacca will get two extra long weekends.

It looks like Malaysians will have plenty of opportunities for getaways that are longer than a weekend.

The 2016 long weekends start from Chinese New Year (Feb 6-9) and include Labour Day (April 30-May 2), Hari Raya Haji (Sept 10-12), Malaysia Day (Sept 16-18), Deepavali (Oct 29-31) and Christmas (Dec 24-26).

Malaysians who take July 8 off will have a five-day holiday in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri, which is expected to fall on July 6 and 7.

 

Notably, the number of long weekends next year is less than those enjoyed this year, which amounted to 11. In 2017, there will be eight long weekends.

To a few teenagers, long weekends will also be a time for bonding with family and friends.

Sabrina Azhar, 16, from SM Sains Selangor, said she would take the long weekends next year to spend more time with her family.

“I’ll spend time with my family, even if all we do is lie around the house!” she giggled.

Likewise, Faiq Mazlan, 16, from SMK Hillcrest said he would usually travel back to his hometown.

“I will get to spend time with my relatives and visit the villagers. It’s really different being in the city and in the village,” he said.

“I will usually go on short vacations with my family,” said Diana Nazri, 16, another SMK Hillcrest student.