Chinese New Year holiday optional

Chinese New Year holiday optional

JAKARTA: Chinese New Year, which falls this year on Feb. 12,
is not a national holiday, but an optional holiday, a religious
affairs ministry official says.

"Optional holiday means its implementation depends on
individual discretion, whether to make it a holiday or not," said
the Ministry of Religious Affairs' public relations chief Muhamad
Kailani in Bandung, West Java, recently.

The Chinese New Year has never been celebrated as a national
holiday in Indonesia, but confusion loomed after authorities
realized that one calendar had marked Feb. 12 in red, signifying
a national holiday, while most other calendars printed Feb. 12 in
black, signifying a normal workday. The religious affairs
ministry's statement is expected to end the confusion.

Muhamad Kailani said Chinese New Year, or Imlek as it is known
in Indonesia, has become an optional holiday since 2001.

Advisor to the Khong Hu Cu Religious Council Yansen D. said in
Bandung, West Java, on Tuesday that declaring Imlek as an
optional holiday would suffice as it reflected the government's
sensitiveness to the aspirations of Khong Hu Cu followers. --
Antara