Public holidays

This was supposed to go out last night, but I dosed off at the pc.

Another busy day at the office. Fortunately, I was able to leave early, beat traffic, have a nice dinner, buy groceries and be home before 10pm. Not bad at all!

Its a public holiday tomorrow (today). I'm sure many are awaiting another day to sleep in, laze around or just hang out. I read, last week, in the newspaper. A journalist wrote about Malaysia having too many holidays and how these holidays affect the productivity and competitiveness of Malaysia. Is it really a cause for concern? On average, a typical working Malaysian will have 12 days of leave from public holidays. Add that number to the average number of days for annual leave of 18 and that gives you 30 days. That is one whole month! Now imagine those who are given up to 30 days annual leave. They have a whooping 42 days to do as they please.

However, this is what I think. Yes, we Malaysians have holidays in abundance. But we also work our butts off. 12-hour days are a norm. So are 60-hour weeks. So having a month to kick back is not a luxury at all. In fact, I think it is necessary for us to avoid going mental. People in countries such as Australia or New Zealand rarely work after 6pm. I think it is actually a policy not to work past official working hours. Work-life balance are given great importance in countries like these.

Therefore, I wonder what the fuss about Malaysia having too many public holidays is all about. To me, its definitely warranted!