All civil servants of the Hindu faith are entitled to a day of unrecorded leave, on top of the one-day public holiday for Deepavali, from this year onwards.

The good news was delivered through an official circular issued by Public Service director-general Borhan Dolah today.

He said that for this year, Nov 7 (Wednesday) has been allocated as the day of unrecorded leave.

“The one-day unrecorded leave entitlement effective this year is to allow more opportunity for government officers to celebrate with their family members.

“Subjected to acceptance by the respective authorities, this circular has been forwarded to all state civil servants, statutory bodies at federal and state levels, as well as all local councils,” said Borhan.

With the exception of Sarawak, Deepavali is declared as a public holiday across all states in Malaysia.

This year is also the first time the government has provided a special entitlement for Hindus in the civil service to take an extra day of unrecorded leave in conjunction with the Festival of Lights.