KUCHING: The Public Holidays (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was passed by the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) after receiving support from Assemblyfolk during its third reading today.

The bill was tabled by Deputy Minister in the Premier's Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Sarawak Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali and debated by eight Assemblymen.

Datuk Sharifah Hasidah noted that the amendment will provide an automatic replacement holiday mechanism in the event of overlapping public holidays, thereby offering certainty to the general public while improving administrative efficiency.

“With this mechanism in place, separate notifications in the Government Gazette will no longer be required whenever public holidays overlap,” she said when winding up the debate on the bill during the Second Sitting of the Fifth Term of the 19th Sarawak Legislative Assembly here on Tuesday.

She explained that previously, every overlap of public holidays necessitated a separate notification through the Government Gazette to fix a replacement holiday, which could cause delays and impact both the public and private sectors.

She noted that the new mechanism also enables families and society to plan holidays earlier without waiting for confirmation through gazettement.

Additionally, she mentioned that the amendment retains the authority of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak to specify otherwise via notification in the Government Gazette should circumstances require.

Furthermore, it is fundamentally aimed at providing clearer and more practical legal provisions in the management of public holidays in Sarawak. — UKASnews

Translator: Ryan Lim