Weather, School and Public Holidays

As travellers you would probably want to find out about the weather, the public holidays and school holidays, to plan your vacation.

Weather

In Malaysia, the monsoon period begins in November and tails off around mid-late January each year and affects mainly the states on the East coast, such as Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.

Otherwise, Malaysia can be enjoyed at any time of year as the weather is generally hot, sunny and fairly uniform. It’s rare to have a day without showers and unusual to have a day without sunshine. Take light summer clothes, carry an umbrella and an extra warm sweater if visiting the hill stations.

The Malaysian Metereological Department provides a robust application to check the weather forecast for land and sea. You can select by state, district, major towns and district area. There are plenty of other weather related information which will get you up to speed on Malaysian climate!

Weekends

When arranging your travels, you will need to be aware of business operation hours and weekends. Generally, most businesses operates between 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Some extend until 6pm and there are some companies operating half days on Saturday. 

There are 2 different weekends in Malaysia.

Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan are the amongst the more conservative Islamic states, the weekend breaks are held on Friday and Saturday. Friday break is to observe the Jum'ah prayers.

Federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan (island), Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Sarawak and Sabah, are the more liberal states. The weekends are Saturday and Sunday.

Holidays for Year 2011

You have probably read, there are many races or ethnic groups in Malaysia. With a variety of races comes a variety of religious, ethnic, cultural and secular celebrations. This makes Malaysia a country having one of the largest number of public holidays in the world!

During Eid Mubarak (Hari Raya) and Chinese New Year you can expect all offices, many shops and restaurants to be closed. However, look out for special sales and celebrations. public parks, shopping malls, and beaches will be more crowded during public holidays, as locals will be taking advantage of their time off.

Public Holidays 2011

Download official Malaysian public holiday lists (only in Malay language but its relatively easily to understand)

Malaysia official holidays are divided into National and State. When a holiday falls on a weekend, the following working day becomes a public holiday.

National Holidays

State Holidays

School Holidays 2011

There are five term breaks in the year for schools throughout Malaysia. The term breaks vary slightly from state to state. However, they fall roughly during the later part of the months of January (1 week), March (2 week), May (3 weeks), August (1 week), November – December (6 weeks).

Download official Malaysian school holiday lists (only in Malay language but its relatively easily to understand)

Note:
*While we aim to provide an accurate list, there may be errors or mistakes. Please cross check the information before making plans. Do update us if there are any mistakes. We and other readers appreciate it.

E&EO