Indonesia’s longest holiday period, Idul Fitri, just got a little longer today thanks to a government decision to increase the number of cuti bersama (collective leave days) surrounding the end of Ramadan festivities in an effort to reduce the period’s notorious mudik (homecoming) traffic.
The Idul Fitri holiday is expected to fall on June 15-16 this year. Initially, the collective leave days announced by the government were for the two days before and after the holiday (June 13-14 and June 18-19), which has been the standard for the last few years.
Yesterday, Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani announced that June 11-12 and June 20 would also be added as collective leave days, meaning the entire holiday period will run from June 11-20 or nine days in total. Puan said the change would be made official with the signing of a joint ministerial decree today.
“On that occasion, the government will add 2 days of joint leave on the 11th and 12th and after Idul Fitri (which is likely to fall on) the 15th and 16th, on June 20, 2018,” Puan said yesterday as quoted by Detik.
The decree also loosens regulations on civil servants taking additional leave days before and after the holiday period. Collective leave days are mandatory for government agencies as well as private companies.
The main reason the government decided on the additional leave days was to ease the terrible mudik traffic that overtakes the country each year as millions of people travel back to their hometowns to spend the holidays with their family, a mass movement that sometimes results in deadly logistical chaos. In 2016, 12 people died when they got stuck in a three-day, 21 km long traffic jam at the Brebes exit (Brexit) toll gate while attempting to make their way home for the holiday.
