Some Interesting Facts About Malaysia

Public Holidays
Date 2005  Occasion
January 1  New Year's Day
January 23  Hari Raya Haji (Eid Al Adha)
February 9-11  Chinese New Year
February 10  Hari Raya Tussa (Islamic New Year)
April 22  Prophet's Birthday
May 1  Labour Day
May 23  Buddha Purnima/Vesak
June 4  Ajung's Birthday
August 31  National Day/Merdeka Day
November 1  Deepavali
November 3 -5  Hari Raya Puasa (Eid Al Fitr)- National
December 25  Christmas Day

Note:
Holidays falling on a weekend (Sunday or Friday depending on the state - see below for details) will generally be celebrated on the following day. Also, should two holidays coincide, an extra day may be given immediately after.
There are flower festivals in July (usually 1 week in mid-July) which may disrupt work.

Weekend -Half day Saturday, full day Sunday ( In Wilayah Persekutuan, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Sarawak and Sabah)
Half day Thursday, full day Friday (Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu)

Embassies and Consulates

Countries with which Malaysia has diplomatic relations have their embassies, high commissions or consulates in Kuala Lumpur. Many of these, like the diplomatic missions of India, Pakistan, the UK, Canada, Thailand and China, are in and around Jalan Ampang, in Kuala Lumpur. If you need the telephone numbers or addresses of any of these, they can be obtained from the local telephone enquiry.

Weights & Measures

The Metric system of weights and measures is followed in Malaysia; so the mile becomes the metric kilometre; buy and sell in kilos, grams and generally ask for a litre not a pint.

Electricity

Power supply is transmitted at 220-240 volts, 50 Hz cycles throughout Malaysia. A number of American manufactured appliances are incompatible, unless an adaptor- usually available in most hotels, or at shops- is used.

Post & Communications

All state capitals, and most cities and towns, have post offices, but these stay open only between 8 am and 5 pm. The General Post Office in Kuala Lumpur is the only one which functions up to 6 pm, Mondays to Saturdays. Other than at post offices, stamps and aerogramme are also available at many of the small sweet-and-tobacco stalls in cities.

Public phone booths can be easily found in most Malaysian cities, and are usually situated in front of restaurants. Many of them also now accept pre-paid `phone cards’ or credit cards. Inter-state and international calls can be made and faxes or telexes sent from most hotels, post offices, and some public phones.

Tipping

Tipping is fairly uncommon, especially in rural Malaysia, where a smile and a thank you, usually is adequate. In most cities, however, a 10% service charge is generally added on to the bill. As far as hotel porters or bellboys are concerned, a tip of 2 /5 ringgit is ample, depending upon how satisfactory the service is. This too is usually expected only in large deluxe hotels; you don’t need to tip employees in smaller establishments.