TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Jokowi approves longer Idul Adha holiday
The government has decided to extend this year’s Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice) holiday by giving extra two days of mandatory leave before and after the Muslim festival, which falls on June 29.
Change Size
A woman sells ketupat, (traditional rice cakes) a dish often served during festive occasions made with rice stuffed inside a pouch of woven palm leaves, ahead of Idul Adha celebrations at a market in Banda Aceh on July 18, 2021. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
The government has decided to extend this year’s Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice) holiday by giving an extra two days of mandatory leave before and after the Muslim festival, which falls on June 29.
The mandatory leave takes place on June 28, when the second-largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah will celebrate Idul Adha, and June 30.
The decision to have a total of three days’ holiday is a revision of the previous proposal to have a two-day holiday for Idul Adha on June 28 and 29.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said the decision was geared to allow more Indonesians to travel to their hometowns, in an effort to spur economic activities and tourism.
“It would allow more time [for people to travel and enjoy their holiday in a bid] to spur more economic activities, particularly domestic tourism,” Jokowi said in Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday. “Since we see that [a three-day holiday] is feasible, we have decided to go with that.”
Previously, the government considered calling a two-day holiday for Idul Adha after deciding that the Muslim festival falls on June 29, the day after that set by Muhammadiyah.
Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Azwar Anas was the first to tease the population with the two-day holiday proposal, but he later clarified that the government’s decision to instead make Idul Adha into a three-day holiday was to allow workers to spend more time with their families, as opposed to just accommodating Muhammadiyah.
