Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Hari Raya Aidilfitri marks the end of Ramadan and is among Malaysia's defining annual public holidays. After a month of fasting, the morning begins with prayer, forgiveness and greetings. The season is shaped by balik kampung—the journey back to one's hometown or family village—which makes roads, railways and airports exceptionally busy as relatives reunite across the country.

Homes are prepared with festive dishes and new clothes, while open houses create a distinctive Malaysian expression of hospitality: hosts welcome relatives, neighbours, colleagues and often visitors of different backgrounds. The federal and state calendars publish the actual days off each year. Moon sighting and official announcements control the civil date, so this entry is a planning guide rather than a substitute for the annual notice.

Malaysia’s Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal officially declared Saturday, March 21 as 1 Shawwal 1447H after the national moon-sighting process. A one-off additional holiday on Friday, March 20 was separately gazetted for Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan once that outcome was known; it is not a recurring third Aidilfitri day. The ordinary federal schedule then covered March 21 and 22. Public-sector circulars, the Holidays Act, Sabah and Sarawak legislation, and private employees’ section 60D rights must not be collapsed into one rule.