The government has approved granting unrecorded leave (CTR) to federal civil servants of Hindu faith serving in Sarawak in conjunction with Deepavali, effective from Nov 9, 2023. This was stated in a circular dated Nov 9, 2023, signed by Public Services Department (PSD) director-general Datuk Dr Zulkapli Mohamed, which was uploaded on the official PSD Facebook page.
The circular states that if Deepavali falls on a working day, officers can apply for CTR on that day. However, if Deepavali falls on a Sunday, officers can apply for CTR on the following working day.
For example, as Deepavali in 2023 falls on a Sunday (Nov 12), officers of Hindu faith can apply for CTR on Monday (Nov 13) to celebrate Deepavali. Since 2018, the government has been granting CTR for one day, which is the next day (the second day) to the festival, for Hindu civil servants, in addition to the Deepavali public holiday.
It’s important to note that the CTR does not apply to the state of Sarawak since Deepavali is not a public holiday there. However, the Sarawak government has agreed to grant CTR in conjunction with the Deepavali celebration to Sarawak state public servants who are Hindus through Sarawak State Employment Circular Number 26 Year 2023 dated Nov 9, 2023.
The CTR in conjunction with Deepavali celebration for Hindu federal civil service officers serving in Sarawak, effective from the date of the letter, has also been extended to all heads of statutory bodies in Sarawak. The government previously agreed that the CTR in conjunction with the Deepavali festival, which falls on Nov 13 (Monday), will be brought to Nov 14 (Tuesday) for public service officers of the Hindu faith in states whose weekly holiday is Sunday. – Bernama
