Public holidays are non-working days that are officially given by Malaysia's government to its citizens. The allocation and dates of public holidays in Malaysia are governed by various state and federal laws. Such as:

• Act 369 - Holidays Act 1951
• Sarawak Holidays Ordinance
• State of Sabah Holidays Ordinance

Most basically, if a public holiday falls on a weekday (Monday to Friday) then that day becomes a non-working day and students and employees are generally not required to attend work or school (though many people in retail and other sectors still work on many of the public holidays, since shopping malls and many service still operate).

This applies for all states except Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, where the weekday starts on Sunday rather than Monday. If a public holiday falls on a Saturday, then people who normally work on that day are entitled to a day off. If a public holiday falls on a Sunday, then a replacement is given the next day, on Monday.

In this way, the number of days off each year because of public holidays remains basically the same, with no reduction in days-off because of public holidays falling on existing off-days.