FMM: Ad hoc holidays unproductive, creates costly, inefficient disruption for manufacturers
Its president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai was responding to a recent announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim declaring Sept 15 as an additional public holiday in conjunction with the Malaysia Day celebrations.
'This is critical to provide legal clarity and enable businesses to plan operations, workforce scheduling, and ensure compliance with the Employment Act 1955,' he stated.
'The manufacturing sector is highly sensitive to last-minute holiday declarations due to tightly scheduled production timelines, export commitments, and labour shifts.'
According to Soh, declaring Sept 15 a holiday effectively creates a four-day disruption for many manufacturers whereby such interruptions require production lines to stop and restart, which is both costly and inefficient.
'Based on past estimates, each additional unplanned public holiday can result in up to RM1 bil in productivity and output losses for the manufacturing sector alone,' he continued.
'The impact is particularly severe for export-oriented industries and those with continuous processes such as steel, food processing, and chemicals.
'SMEs, in particular, will face challenges in absorbing these costs or managing overtime and replacement shifts. These disruptions also have a cascading effect across supply chains and logistics operations.'
Soh further stressed that policy announcements must reflect clarity, consistency, certainty, and credibility.
He noted that frequent ad hoc holiday declarations do not augur well for a country striving to achieve high-income nation status and position itself as a competitive, reliable, and attractive destination for investment.
'Investors and global buyers require predictability and stability. Sudden changes that disrupt production and supply chain commitments risk undermining Malaysia's competitiveness, especially when the nation is working hard to secure global supply chain opportunities and high-value investments,' he elaborated.
'While FMM appreciates the spirit of celebrating Malaysia Day, we strongly urge the government to expedite the official gazettement to provide immediate legal clarity and enable businesses to manage operational risks effectively.' ‒ July 24, 2025
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