This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 22, 2021 - February 28, 2021

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) introduced the practice of allowing its employees to choose one day out of its 10 official holidays to observe a festival of their choice.

This floating holiday could be chosen from among specific festivals of the Orthodox Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs, as well as Presidents’ Day in the US. The other nine holidays mark Christian and Muslim festivals and occasions that are significant to the US, like Independence Day.

The introduction of a floating holiday followed a resolution taken by the UN General Assembly in the interest of respecting the diversity of the UN’s staff around the world.

It is clearly fitting for the world’s foremost inter-governmental organisation to recognise the rich cultural variety of the nations it represents by making it a policy that its employees can choose to observe a religious festival of particular importance as an official UN holiday.

This example is the subject of a paper by the Wisdom Foundation, a non-governmental organisation headed by Sabah political leader Wilfred Madius Tangau, proposing that the concept of floating holidays be adopted in Malaysia.

The paper — entitled Beyond Thaipusam, Time to Consider Floating Holidays — uses as a starting point the cancellation of the Thaipusam holiday in Kedah last month to focus on the question: “How can Malaysia be inclusive in the celebration of its festivals without creating too many holidays and affecting productivity?”

The question of maintaining productivity is a key point. Malaysia, which has 19 public holidays, takes second place in the world, along with Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, in the list of countries with the most holidays. Iran tops the list, with its workers entitled to one month of paid annual leave and 27 public holidays. The global average is 11 public holidays.

Nevertheless, religious observances play a major role in the lives of our communities and making time for festivals is an important aspect of our cultures.

For guidance, the paper, written by researcher Freeda Jane Madius, cites the example of Indonesia, which gives legal protection to the right of workers to fulfil their religious obligations. Under Manpower Act No. 13 of 2003, employers are required to provide one day of paid leave annually for this purpose.

As with the case of the UN resolution, the Indonesian law has the effect of giving recognition to the cultural diversity of its population.

The issue then centres around the administration of the floating holiday so that it does not affect organisational efficiency.

The principal significance of the floating holiday policy, the paper notes, is to promote inclusiveness. With this policy, the employee gets the right to take leave to observe a religious festival that is not on the list of official holidays. The employee who enjoys this benefit would naturally feel that his or her culture is valued even though the festival is not observed by a majority of the people.

As the floating holiday has to be used for religious observances, the employee would not be entitled to carry it forward if it is not used within the year.

An additional point is that floating holidays can help to distribute the taking of leave among workers of different faiths and so avoid the bunching of leave around major festivals. This can contribute to the efficiency of an organisation’s operations.

The paper includes a list of cultural and religious festivals that are currently not public holidays in Malaysia. The listing has over 40 events involving minority groups, although it is by no means exhaustive.

The events reflect various aspects of life among the different communities, such as the welcoming of the seasons, ancestral rites, thanksgiving for the harvest and occasions of religious significance.

To cite an example, the harvest festival known as Thai Ponggal among Tamil-speaking people has become a significant occasion in Malaysia over time. Attention on the festival has grown considerably in recent years, especially with political leaders joining in the ceremonial cooking of rice pudding as part of the thanksgiving feast.

The celebration is equally important to other Malaysians of Indian descent, who mark it as Makar Sankranti, Uttarayan, Poush Sankranti or Maghi Lohri, depending on their regional identities in the subcontinent. Prayers for nature’s bounty is a common theme of the occasion, which is followed by feasting and gifting.

Whatever the name, there is no doubt that the festival adds much colour to the cultural tapestry of the Malaysian people. As a candidate for the proposed floating holiday concept, the celebration is a prime instance of the good that can arise from its recognition. Not the least of this would be a sense of pride among Indian Malaysians in contributing to the richness of Malaysian life.

Just like Thai Ponggal, the Mid-Autumn or Mooncake Festival of the Chinese has come to be owned by Malaysians as part of our experience as a nation. Then there is the religious diversity that is reflected in the various holy days of our different communities. Put together, these cultural and religious occasions add great vibrancy to us as a people.

The proposal for adopting floating holidays offers a chance to give institutional recognition for this diversity. It is clearly an idea that is worth careful consideration.

Interestingly, Malaysia has some experience in allowing civil servants to take discretionary leave in conjunction with cultural and religious occasions. In the 1970s, civil servants were entitled to take up to five days of unrecorded leave in a year for such occasions. The benefit was introduced in 1974 but withdrawn after three years.

In the current context, if the idea were to be revived for government servants, it may be preferable for this entitlement to be carved out of the allotted annual leave instead.

Fortunately for private firms, the proposal for floating holidays can be taken up much more easily than in the public sector. Employers can offer the benefit as part of their incentives package to attract talent and reap improved staff morale as a result.

Rash Behari Bhattacharjee is associate editor at The Edge

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