Give Hindu civil servants extra day off for Deepavali, says senator

Senator Dr RA Lingeshwaran has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to allow Hindu civil servants to use their unrecorded leave for Deepavali, which falls on a Sunday (Nov 8), on the Tuesday after the festival.

Since 2018, the government has allowed Hindu civil servants to use their unrecorded leave as an additional day off for Deepavali. From 2024 onwards, they were allowed to decide whether to use this leave on the eve of the festival or the day after.

Lingeshwaran said there was uncertainty among public servants over whether they could use their unrecorded leave, since Deepavali falls on a Sunday, with the public holiday naturally falling on Monday.

This means that unrecorded leave cannot be used because the eve of Deepavali and the day after are already off days.

“I ask the prime minister to instruct the public service department (JPA) to provide a special exemption for the leave provided to Hindu civil servants,” the DAP man said in a statement.

JPA provides 14 days of unrecorded leave for eligible civil servants, primarily for attending training courses, annual camps, meetings, seminars and sports activities.

Deepavali last fell on a Sunday in 2023, leaving civil servants unable to use their unrecorded leave on the day before or after.

However, JPA granted a national exemption allowing Hindu civil servants to use their unrecorded leave on the Tuesday.