Photograph: Merdeka Day at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Wikimedia Commons, photo amrufm, CC BY 2.0)
Emir Overseas · Malaysia student life guide
Malaysia public holidays: the gazetted dates a student plans the year around
Ask a senior on any Malaysian campus when the next long weekend is and they will not check an app - they will know. Malaysia runs on one of the fuller public-holiday calendars anywhere, and the official version of it is not a blog list: it is a gazette issued by the Cabinet, Constitution and Inter-Government Relations Division of the Prime Minister's Department. This guide reproduces the gazetted national dates for 2026 and 2027, explains what the states add, and shows how students use the calendar. We place students with 34 partner universities across Malaysia, and holiday planning is part of every pre-departure briefing in Calicut.
How Malaysia's holiday system works
Malaysia public holidays: three facts behind the official calendar
The official calendar is a published gazette, not a tradition. Three facts about how it is built explain everything else on this page.
Structure, entry counts, markings and the change rule are from the official gazette PDFs HKA-2026 and HKA-2027 on kabinet.gov.my, checked 11 November 2026.
Gazetted national dates 2026-2027
Malaysia national public holidays: the gazetted dates for 2026 and 2027
These are the Persekutuan (national) entries from the two gazettes - the holidays observed across the country, whatever state a campus is in. Dates marked * are the ones the gazette flags as subject to change.
| The holiday | 2026, per the gazette | 2027, per the gazette |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese New Year (both days) | Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 February | Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February |
| Hari Raya Puasa (both days) * | Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 March | Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 March |
| Hari Pekerja (Labour Day) | Friday 1 May | Saturday 1 May |
| Hari Raya Qurban * | Wednesday 27 May | Monday 17 May |
| Hari Wesak | Sunday 31 May | Thursday 20 May |
| Official birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong | Monday 1 June | Monday 7 June |
| Awal Muharam (Maal Hijrah) | Wednesday 17 June | Sunday 6 June |
| Maulidur Rasul (Prophet Muhammad's birthday) | Tuesday 25 August | Sunday 15 August |
| Hari Kebangsaan (National Day) | Monday 31 August | Tuesday 31 August |
| Hari Malaysia | Wednesday 16 September | Thursday 16 September |
| Hari Deepavali * | Sunday 8 November | Thursday 28 October |
| Hari Krismas (Christmas Day) | Friday 25 December | Saturday 25 December |
Reproduced from the Persekutuan tables of the official HKA-2026 and HKA-2027 gazettes (kabinet.gov.my), checked 11 November 2026. Weekday names are the gazette's own. The gazette's schedule shows Deepavali observed in every state and federal territory except Sarawak.
What the states add
Malaysia state public holidays: what gets added on top
Every state and federal territory gazettes its own Negeri entries on top of the national ones. The combined 2026 schedule lists them with a tick per state - these are the patterns, with the gazette's own 2026 examples.
| The pattern | Gazetted 2026 examples | The practical habit |
|---|---|---|
| Rulers' and governors' birthdays | Negeri Sembilan's Yang di-Pertuan Besar (14 January), Johor's Sultan (23 March), Sabah's Yang di-Pertua Negeri (30 March), the Raja of Perlis (17 May), Penang's Yang di-Pertua Negeri (11 July), Sarawak's Yang di-Pertua Negeri (10 October), Perak's Sultan (6 November), Selangor's Sultan (11 December), Kelantan (29-30 September) - one day each, only in that state. | Find your campus state's birthday entry - it is a free day off that students in other states do not get, and it is easy to miss when planning travel. |
| Harvest festivals in East Malaysia | Pesta Kaamatan, the harvest festival, gazetted 30-31 May 2026 for Sabah and Labuan; Hari Gawai Dayak, gazetted 1-2 June 2026 for Sarawak. | Students in Sabah and Sarawak get festival weeks that Peninsular campuses do not - and Peninsular students do not get these days. |
| Religious observances by state | Thaipusam (1 February 2026), marked for several states in the gazette's state schedule; Good Friday (3 April 2026), gazetted for two East Malaysian states; Nuzul Al-Quran (7 March 2026), marked for most states and the federal territories. | The gazette's own schedule shows exactly which states observe each - check the column for your campus state rather than assuming. |
| Federal Territory Day | Hari Wilayah Persekutuan, 1 February 2026, gazetted for Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya. | Campuses in KL and Putrajaya get this one; it lands near Thaipusam, so early February can cluster. |
| State-specific commemoration days | Sarawak Independence Day (22 July 2026), Penang's world heritage listing anniversary (7 July 2026), state memorial days such as Hari Hol in Pahang (22 May 2026) and Johor (21 July 2026). | These are one-state affairs - nice to know for a free day, never worth planning travel around. |
State entries and dates are from the Negeri and combined schedules of the HKA-2026 gazette, checked 11 November 2026. The gazette's per-state ticks are the authority on which state observes which day.
What it means on campus
Malaysia public holidays: how a student actually uses the calendar
Forty-nine gazetted entries sound abstract. On campus they turn into three practical things.
Closed campus, closed counters
On a gazetted holiday observed in your state, university offices, banks and government counters close - the same as Sundays. Anything that needs a stamp, a signature or a counter visit - a student-pass errand, a bank letter, an attestation - gets scheduled around these dates, not on them. We tell students to check the gazette before booking any appointment.
Immigration and university international offices observe these days - plan document errands in the quiet weeks before a holiday cluster.Long weekends that are actually long
The 2026 gazette hands students real clusters: Chinese New Year lands Tuesday-Wednesday (17-18 February), Hari Raya Puasa lands Saturday-Sunday (21-22 March), and Hari Wesak (Sunday 31 May) sits next to the Agong's birthday (Monday 1 June). These are the windows for a trip home to India or a family visit the other way - our parents-visit guide covers how the visit itself works.
Flights around the major festivals book out early and cost more - the gazette dates are known a year ahead, which is exactly when to book.A calendar worth putting on the wall
Because the gazette is published in advance, the whole year can be mapped in one sitting: which weeks hold a holiday, which months run uninterrupted, when the busy travel windows fall. Our students do this in the first week of the academic year - it takes twenty minutes and it shapes every booking after.
Mark the asterisked dates in pencil: Raya Puasa, Raya Qurban and Deepavali are the ones the gazette flags as subject to change.Straight answers
Malaysia public holidays: questions
How many public holidays does Malaysia have in 2026?
The combined official schedule for 2026 lists 49 gazetted entries - 12 national (Persekutuan) holidays plus the state-level (Negeri) entries that apply only in their own states. The number a student actually gets is the national list plus the entries for the campus's state.
Is Deepavali a public holiday in Malaysia?
Yes - Deepavali is a gazetted national holiday: Sunday 8 November 2026 and Thursday 28 October 2027, per the official schedules. It carries the gazette's asterisk for dates subject to change, and the schedule shows it observed in every state and federal territory except Sarawak.
Do Malaysian university students get all these holidays off?
Students get the holidays gazetted for the state where the campus sits, plus all national ones - so a student in Selangor and a student in Sarawak have different calendars. Each university announces how gazetted days apply to its own teaching schedule; the gazette sets the days, the university sets the semester around them.
Are Malaysia's public holiday dates fixed in advance?
Most are gazetted a year ahead. Three holidays - Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Qurban and Hari Deepavali - carry the gazette's own 'subject to change' marking because they depend on religious determination and moon sighting. Treat every other date as firm, and confirm those three near the day on kabinet.gov.my.
What is the difference between national and state public holidays in Malaysia?
The gazette marks entries (P) for Persekutuan - federal, observed nationwide - and (N) for Negeri - state-level, observed only in the state that gazetted them. Rulers' birthdays, harvest festivals like Kaamatan and Gawai, and days like Federal Territory Day are all (N) entries.
Where do I check Malaysia's official public holiday dates?
The official source is the Hari Kelepasan Am page on kabinet.gov.my, run by the Cabinet, Constitution and Inter-Government Relations Division of the Prime Minister's Department, which publishes the gazette PDFs each year. The MyGovernment portal links to the same schedules.
Published on our website
Malaysia admissions, as our students describe them
These student comments keep the attribution displayed on our website; holiday dates and observances still depend on the Malaysian government's current published gazettes.
Hima Shiraz - University of Nottingham Malaysia
“They guided me through every step of the application and clearly explained what to expect throughout the process and after arriving in Malaysia, which made everything much less stressful. They also helped connect me with other students in Malaysia, which was extremely reassuring …”
Displayed: 5 out of 5 stars, as published on emiroverseas.comIhab - MSc Business Strategy, Leadership and Change, Heriot-Watt Malaysia
“The team was professional, responsive, and made the entire process extremely easy. Special mention to Ms. Bibu, who managed everything seamlessly and ensured the process was stress-free for me.”
Displayed: 5 out of 5 stars, as published on emiroverseas.comWhere every number comes from
Malaysia public holidays: sources and what they establish
- BKPP, Jabatan Perdana Menteri: Jadual Hari Kelepasan Am 2026 (gazette PDF): the 12 national (Persekutuan) holidays with dates and weekdays; the state (Negeri) schedule; the combined 49-entry schedule; the 'tertakluk kepada perubahan' marking on Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Qurban and Deepavali. Checked 11 November 2026.
- BKPP, Jabatan Perdana Menteri: Jadual Hari Kelepasan Am 2027 (gazette PDF): the 12 national holiday dates for 2027 with weekdays, and the same change markings. Checked 11 November 2026.
- BKPP, Jabatan Perdana Menteri: Hari Kelepasan Am portal page: the official index of gazette PDFs by year - the page to re-check before booking travel. Checked 11 November 2026.
- MyGovernment: public holidays portal page: the Malaysian government portal's own public-holidays section, pointing to the same official schedules. Checked 11 November 2026.
Planning the Malaysia year around the calendar? Do it with us.
Holiday windows decide when families visit and when flights home make sense - we map them with every student before the intake starts. Talk to our Malaysia study-abroad experts in Calicut.
Talk to our Malaysia study-abroad expertsYour Malaysia study plan, with our Calicut team. Office: Ground Floor, HiLITE Business Park, Calicut. Please arrange an appointment before visiting.