share on
Private sector employers may either replace the days on 2 and 3 June, or substitute them with other days provided there is mutual agreement between employer and employee.
The Sabah Manpower Department has issued clarification on the management of paid holidays for the 2026 Kaamatan Festival and Wesak Day celebrations, following an overlap in holiday dates.
In a media statement released on 20 May 2026, the department said the First Schedule of the Holidays Ordinance (Sabah Chapter 56) designates both the Kaamatan Festival and Wesak Day as Sabah state holidays for 2026.
The Kaamatan Festival will fall on 30 and 31 May 2026 (Saturday and Sunday), with Wesak Day also falling on 31 May 2026 (Sunday).
The department further noted that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s birthday, observed on 1 June 2026 (Monday), is one of the five compulsory paid holidays that private sector employers must grant under subsection 103(1) of the Sabah Labour Ordinance (Sabah Chapter 67). The holiday cannot be replaced with another day.
Meanwhile, Kaamatan Festival and Wesak Day fall under the category of paid holidays that employers may choose to provide to employees under subsection 103(1)(a) of the same ordinance.
The statement also highlighted that under the proviso to subsection 103(1)(b), any holiday that falls on a rest day or another designated holiday must be replaced with the next working day.
As such, employers who designate Sunday as a rest day and choose to observe both Kaamatan Festival and Wesak Day as paid holidays must provide the following:
- 1 June 2026 (Monday) as a paid holiday for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s Birthday,
- 2 June 2026 (Tuesday) as a replacement paid holiday for the Kaamatan Festival, and
- 3 June 2026 (Wednesday) as a replacement paid holiday for Wesak Day.
The department added that the replacement holidays for Kaamatan Festival and Wesak Day may be substituted with other days, provided there is mutual agreement between employer and employee, in line with subsection 103(2) of the Sabah Labour Ordinance.
It also noted that employees earning RM4,000 and below per month, as well as employees specified under paragraph 3 of the First Schedule of the ordinance, are entitled to paid holiday rates if they are required to work during the affected holidays.
The applicable salary payment rates are outlined under subsections 103(6), (7), (8), and (9) of the Sabah Labour Ordinance.
share on
