Public holiday and toll-free travel for GE15

PUTRAJAYA: Two days of public holiday and toll-free use of highways await Malaysians who are returning to their hometown to exercise their right as voters on Saturday.

In an announcement by the Prime Minister, Nov 18 and 19 have been declared as public holidays in conjunction with GE15.

Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob quipped that he was aware that this was an announcement much anticipated by the people.

“So, I hereby declare that Nov 18 and 19 are public holidays,” he said at the Cuepacs headquarters ground- breaking ceremony yesterday.

Explaining why polling day on Nov 19 was declared a public holiday, he said that this was because some private sector companies were operational on Saturdays, so their employees might not be able to cast their votes.

“We want to make sure that Malaysians can exercise their right that is clearly stipulated in the Federal Constitution.

“No one can prevent a citizen from exercising their right to vote,” he added.

On free tolls, the Prime Minister said the facility would be available on highways provided by 30 concessionaires for first-class private vehicles.

The free tolls start from 12.01am on Nov 18 till 11.59pm on Nov 19.

This is expected to benefit some 90% of highway users.

The state governments of Negri Sembilan, Penang and Selangor had earlier declared Nov 18 as a public holiday.

Ismail Sabri also announced early salary payments for civil servants for the month of November, saying that it would be paid out on Nov 17.

Pensions were given out yesterday.

He said he had announced a slew of incentives for civil servants during his annual meeting with them on Aug 30.

“Cuepacs president Datuk Adnan Mat has also proposed a few more incentives.

“We can look into the proposal later after the election,” he added.