Malaysia GE15: 18 and 19 Nov 2022 officially declared public holidays for voting

For the states of Sabah and Sarawak, the state Governments can declare the dates as public holidays pursuant to their respective Public Holidays Ordinance.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has officially announced that both 18 and 19 November 2022 (Friday and Saturday respectively) will be public holidays, in line with the 15^th general election (GE15) happening on 19 November 2022.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS), PM Ismail has announced several efforts to further ease the process of voting: 

1. The 18th and 19th of November 2022 have been declared public holidays to allow time for voters to exercise their right to vote. 
   • For the states of Sabah and Sarawak, the state Governments can declare the dates as public holidays pursuant to their respective Public Holidays Ordinance.
2. Salary payment dates for civil servants for the month of November 2022 will be expedited to 17 November 2022. For pensioners, pension payments will begin on 14 November 2022.
   • This matter is expected to ease the cost burden of civil servants who wish to return to their hometowns to vote.
3. There will be no toll fees on 18 and 19 November 2022, as agreed by 30 highway concessionaires. 

The free toll will start from 12.01am on 18 November (Friday) until 11.59pm on 19 November (Saturday) 2022, involving all Class 1 private vehicles only, which are estimated to account for 90% of the total number of vehicles on the highway. The financial implications of this initiative will be fully absorbed by the highway concession companies as one of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, with an estimated liability cost of RM34.5mn.

The free toll offer was decided after taking into account the suggestions and negotiations between the Ministry of Works (Kementerian Kerja Raya Malaysia) and all highway concession operators last week.

Through this initiative, the Government hopes that it will be able to ease the financial burden of consumers, especially nationals, in order to fulfill their responsibilities as voters every five years.

ALSO READ No penalties or wage deductions allowed for employees taking time off to vote in Malaysia GE15

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