PETALING JAYA: Penang has followed Selangor in deciding not to declare a public holiday for the Aug 12 state elections.
Caretaker chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said most workers would already have the day off since it falls on a Saturday, China Press reported.
However, he urged bosses with employees working on polling day to give their workers enough time off to carry out their civic duty to vote.
Chow also said he believed that a public holiday in the state would not make much difference to the voter turnout rate.
Previously, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng had called for the state to declare Aug 12 a public holiday to encourage more people to come out and vote.
In response, Chow was reported to have said that the state government would decide on the matter “later”, adding that employers and businesses tend to be unhappy with public holidays being declared adhoc.
On Saturday, caretaker Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari said the state government had no intention of declaring Aug 12 as a special public holiday in the state.
Amirudin said this was to avoid causing any unnecessary disturbance to the private sector and getting blamed for “pleasing the voters”.
He added that polling day for the six state elections was announced a month ago, giving voters ample time to plan their activities on the day and take leave from work if needed.