Bank Negara and all banks in Kuala Lumpur, including branch operations, will remain open tomorrow - despite a local holiday being declared to celebrate the city's football team's Malaysia Cup victory.
In a brief statement, the central bank said all financial market transactions in foreign exchange, money and over-the-counter bond markets will continue to function as usual.
On Tuesday, the Kuala Lumpur City FC (KL City FC) won the Malaysia Cup for the first time since 1989, beating Johor Darul Takzim FC (JDT) with a score of 2-0.
Federal Territories Minister Shahidan Kassim yesterday declared that all three federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya will get an extra public holiday tomorrow (Dec 3) to celebrate the win.
The impromptu holiday, however, has met with mixed reactions.
Infectious diseases expert Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman lamented that the holiday had affected the schedule of medical professional exams which had already been affected by Covid-19 and resultant lockdowns.
Politically irresponsible move
Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming (above) - who was born in Kuala Lumpur - said Shahidan's move was populist and politically irresponsible.
"This sudden declaration of a public holiday is economically and socially disruptive for many," he said in a statement today.
As Kuala Lumpur is the hub of financial services, he said a sudden holiday could trigger millions in unplanned lost output.
"Some companies may have to pay unplanned extra overtime to ensure that some of their core services remain up and running during this public holiday.
"A back of the envelope calculation shows that this unplanned holiday may result in as much as RM400 million in lost output, something which the country cannot afford while we are recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic," Ong added.
He pointed out that businesses that have to conduct transactions with government officers will also have to delay this, resulting in lost time and productivity.
Besides this, the DAP lawmaker said there are also social disruptions, such as parents who live in Kuala Lumpur but work in Selangor, who will now have to make sudden childcare arrangements for their children who do not have to go to school.
"Those who have court appointments scheduled at the Kuala Lumpur High Court for this Friday will also find their appointments postponed and this will create a cascading effect leading to other court appointments being delayed and postponed as well," he added. - Mkini
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