Govt declares May 9 as public holiday to allow people to go to the polls
KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 (Bernama) -- There should be no more excuse for all registered voters not to cast their votes after the government announced that May 9, which is polling day for the 14th general election (GE14), a public holiday in the country.
Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) president Datuk Azih Muda said the announcement proved that the government was sensitised to any issues raised by the people.
"The government listened to what was voiced by Cuepacs. Thanks to the government for listening to the people's voices, providing opportunities for employees in the public and private sectors to exercise their rights," he said when contacted by Bernama.
The government today declared May 9 a public holiday in the country.
Yesterday, the EC announced May 9 as the polling date in the GE14, while nomination was set for April 28 and early voting for May 5.
National Union of Teaching Profession president Kamarozaman Abd Razak said the additional public holiday given should offer an opportunity for all employees who had registered as voters to cast their votes.
"If there is a decline in the voter turnout after the announcement of the public holiday, then it must be due to the bad attitude of Malaysians.
"As civil servants, we must ensure high voter turnout. This is an opportunity for us to choose leaders who can champion the fate and rights of the people," he said.
National Union of Bank Employees secretary-general J Solomon said he welcomed the government's announcement and hoped that Malaysians working in Singapore would also be given a day off on May 9 to enable them to travel back to their hometown to cast their votes.
"We hope that the Malaysian government will ask the Singapore government to give an unrecorded leave to nearly 500,000 Malaysians working in Singapore so that they can carry out their responsibility.
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan advised employers to observe May 9 as a public holiday as declared by the government.
"If there is a need for employers to operate on that day, they can do so but they should allow their employees to cast their votes first or pay them a public holiday rate," he said.
Civil servant Shafril Azmi Shaharin, 42, from Cyberjaya said the announcement could make it easier for employers to reorganise their schedules.
"General election only takes place once in every five years, so making it a public holiday is important to give the people the opportunity to fulfill their obligations without affecting their companies' operations," he said.
-- BERNAMA
