2026 Working Days Calendar for Penang, Malaysia
Legal Regulations
The listed holidays are federally recognized in the United States under the US Code. Federal employees and many private sector workers are entitled to these days off, though private employers are not legally required to provide paid holiday leave. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) governs overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek but does not mandate holiday pay.
Malaysian working day regulations are governed by the Holidays Act 1951 and the Employment Act 1955. Employees are entitled to a minimum of 11 public holidays per year, with five being compulsory: National Day, Agong's Birthday, State Ruler's Birthday, Labor Day, and Malaysia Day. Specific rules exist for holidays falling on rest days, overlapping holidays, and payment calculations, including provisions for replacement holidays.
News
No specific news or regulatory changes for 2026 regarding US federal holidays or working day laws were found in the provided sources. The federal holiday list for 2026 appears consistent with previous years, including Juneteenth which became a federal holiday in 2021. No new holidays or major work-time regulation changes were announced.
For 2026, a notable scheduling challenge involves the overlap of Thaipusam and Federal Territory Day on February 1, requiring specific replacement holiday rules. The HR guide also references the possibility of ad-hoc holidays, citing a 2025 example where a Johor public holiday was suddenly declared for a football win, highlighting the dynamic nature of holiday planning.
Insights
In the US, the typical work schedule is Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. A common cultural practice is to create 'bridge days' by taking leave between a holiday and a weekend to extend time off. Many offices close early on the day before major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, though this is not a universal legal requirement.
Managing public holidays in Malaysia is described as 'almost an art form' due to the complex system of federal, state, and religious holidays. A key cultural practice is the creation of 'replacement holidays' when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, which can lead to working days on weekends. The calendar reflects significant regional diversity, with many holidays observed only in specific states or by certain groups.
2026 Working days summary for Penang, Malaysia
Penang, Malaysia has 248 working days in 2026. This is calculated from 365 total calendar days, minus 100 weekend days (Saturday-Sunday), and minus 17 holidays. The standard work week runs Monday through Friday.
248
Working Days
100
Weekend Days
17
Holidays
Monthly Breakdown
| Month | Working | Weekend | Holidays | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21 | 9 | 1 | 31 |
| February | 18 | 7 | 3 | 28 |
| March | 22 | 9 | 0 | 31 |
| April | 22 | 8 | 0 | 30 |
| May | 18 | 9 | 4 | 31 |
| June | 20 | 8 | 2 | 30 |
| July | 22 | 7 | 2 | 31 |
| August | 19 | 10 | 2 | 31 |
| September | 21 | 8 | 1 | 30 |
| October | 22 | 9 | 0 | 31 |
| November | 21 | 8 | 1 | 30 |
| December | 22 | 8 | 1 | 31 |
| Total | 248 | 100 | 17 | 365 |
2026 Calendar for Penang, Malaysia
January 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 New Year's Day New Year's Day | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
21 working days, 9 weekend days, and 1 holiday in January 2026.
February 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Thaipusam Thaipusam | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 Chinese New Year Chinese New Year | 18 Chinese New Year (Day 2) Chinese New Year (Day 2) | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
18 working days, 7 weekend days, and 3 holidays in February 2026.
March 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
30 | 31 |
22 working days, 9 weekend days in March 2026.
April 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
22 working days, 8 weekend days in April 2026.
May 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Labour Day Labour Day | 2 | 3 | ||||
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
18 | 19 | 20 Hari Raya Aidilfitri Hari Raya Aidilfitri | 21 Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Day 2) Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Day 2) | 22 | 23 | 24 |
25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 Wesak Day Wesak Day |
18 working days, 9 weekend days, and 4 holidays in May 2026.
June 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Agong's Birthday Agong's Birthday | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
15 | 16 | 17 Awal Muharram Awal Muharram | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
29 | 30 |
20 working days, 8 weekend days, and 2 holidays in June 2026.
July 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 Georgetown World Heritage City Day Georgetown World Heritage City Day | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 Penang Governor's Birthday Penang Governor's Birthday | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
22 working days, 7 weekend days, and 2 holidays in July 2026.
August 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | |||||
3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
24 | 25 Prophet Muhammad's Birthday Prophet Muhammad's Birthday | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
31 National Day National Day |
19 working days, 10 weekend days, and 2 holidays in August 2026.
September 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
14 | 15 | 16 Malaysia Day Malaysia Day | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
28 | 29 | 30 |
21 working days, 8 weekend days, and 1 holiday in September 2026.
October 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
22 working days, 9 weekend days in October 2026.
November 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 Deepavali Deepavali |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
30 |
21 working days, 8 weekend days, and 1 holiday in November 2026.
December 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 Christmas Day Christmas Day | 26 | 27 |
28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
22 working days, 8 weekend days, and 1 holiday in December 2026.