YOURSAY | 'Businesses win some and lose some.'

Extra Raya holiday not populist decision - Ahmad Maslan

Extra Raya holiday will cause Mydin to lose half a million ringgit

Man on the Silver Mountain: Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan is right. The extra Raya holiday today is a practical decision.

It will not affect business much as everybody will feel the festive atmosphere. How many people really want to work today? It will be a holiday mood, there will be long-distance travelling as usual.

Businesses can always make up and earn extras on other days after the Raya holiday. It is always the case, the lull before the storm.

If you close for one/two days; customers will come back with a bang to make up for the days lost. Things will set right itself.

Assets are like energy. They will not be lost, just converted into forms. You lose one, you will gain one.

There are lots of people grateful for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's decision. I know many are. It is practical and it is worth it.

Citizen_Zero: Before it was made known that Hari Raya Aidil Fitri might fall today, people have already made plans on the premise that Raya is on Saturday and Monday is a replacement public holiday as per the calendar.

It has caused uncertainty concerning the public holidays and the leaves people have already taken or might have to apply again for a day before that. (Some might even have to cancel the leave already applied for Friday).

It was good for the government to make a definitive decision in advance, for people to plan properly and to facilitate (their travels).

Monday is already a public holiday on the calendar. This is the circumstances. Businesses, win some, and lose some. Deal with it.

Mazilamani: I can understand the concerns of most businesses, especially for big and small industries, plus even for medical clinics.

Some Malay-owned companies with a majority of Malay employees close for one week.

Big townships and cities, even if businesses are kept open, experience low business traffic.

Most living in big townships and cities leave for their homes in kampungs or go on holidays to other towns or overseas.

Malay townships like Bangi, Kajang, Shah Alam are practically left empty.

Most employers are concerned, especially industries about the extra two-day salary without business operation.

Since it may not be a gazetted holiday, I believe it can be deducted from the annual leave. It has to be cleared with the Labour Department.

Supermarket operators must not complain for they normally plan for minimum staffing during long festival holidays.

The staff can handle their clients. Most supermarkets are open around the year.

I think Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is concerned for the safety of the road users, who flood the highways forlong stretches and long hours, and also the high incidences of accidents, especially by motorcyclists.

More traffic is expected with tolls being waivered for four days.

Righteousness4All: Anwar and his cabinet members are only humane to the rakyat just like our beloved Agong.

All working and non-working Muslim friends have already planned when to go back for Hari Raya. Most have taken early extra leave to balik kampung with their loved ones.

Having that official extra holiday does wonders for them and their mind will be at ease and happy because they saved another official leave application.

BlackPigeon0028: Yes, he (Mydin’s boss) is correct to a certain extent. The government cannot and should not be declaring holidays as and when they feel like it, whether it is for buying votes or not.

Businesses and even banks are affected. All the holidays are declared very early in the year and we should all adhere to it. As it is, Malaysia has unnecessary holidays, making the rakyat just absolutely not fruitful.

It’s better to make the rakyat more hardworking and want to earn more.

As it is, the government is even giving free money to bachelors. Why and what for? Make these groups go out and be hungry and learn to earn more, not just collect money that drops from the skies.

Giving to the old is acceptable especially since they have contributed so much in terms of taxes, among others. These bachelors? My God, what have they contributed in terms of taxes or work? All given free money to buy more cigarettes and vapes?

QG 007: The loss to the retail business can occur in several ways. Firstly, retailers may have to pay their employees for the extra holiday, which adds to their labour costs.

Secondly, if consumers decide to travel or engage in other activities during the holiday, they may spend less money on retail purchases.

Thirdly, retailers may have to deal with excess inventory if they have stocked up for the holiday period, which can lead to markdowns and lost profits.

Moreover, if the holiday falls on a peak shopping day, such as Raya Day or the extra holiday, the loss to the retail business can be even less significant.

In such cases, retailers may lose out on a substantial portion of their annual sales, which can impact their profitability and overall business performance.

In conclusion, while an extra holiday may be beneficial for employees, it can have a negative impact on the retail business.

Retailers must plan and prepare for such holidays to minimise their losses and maintain their financial stability.

Steven Ong: You didn't lose RM500,000 but earned RM500,000 less. Know the fact that all subsidies by the government eventually end up in the pockets of the sellers of daily human needs.

There is no such thing as toll-free or extra holidays. It’s a populist scheme by the incompetent government using the people's tax money for their positions.

Extra holidays mean paying our huge civil servants’ salaries while productivity and services are lost. Toll-free means compensating the rich highway consortium with the people's tax money.

Question to Anwar again. How much do the government have to pay the rich owners of highways to make the ignorant citizens happy? Keeping silent is not an option.

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