PUTRAJAYA: The proposed four-and-a-half-day work week by the Johor state government may be discussed at the Malaysia-Singapore Annual Leaders' Retreat.
Unity government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said this was however not discussed in today's cabinet meeting.
"This was not discussed (in the cabinet meeting today), although it might be touched upon briefly during the Malaysia-Singapore Annual Leaders' Retreat on Dec 8 and 9," he said briefly during a post-cabinet meeting press conference today.
Yesterday, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said Johor was studying a proposal to change the public sector working period to only four-and-a-half days a week due to the reintroduction of weekend days off beginning Jan 1, 2025.
He said to achieve this, the state government was currently working on improving productivity and boosting service delivery. This, he said, includes empowering digital services by adding more transactions which can be done online.
Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) president Datuk Dr Adnan Mat said the shortened work week will not compromise the quality or productivity of the public sector, but instead will transform the public service delivery system into a more efficient one.
He said Johor's initiative to explore this proposal aligned with the government's broader efforts to enhance productivity and improve the public service delivery system, particularly in empowering public services.
Previously, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was reported to have implemented the shortest work week in the world, with just four and a half working days per week.
Under this measure, working hours from Monday to Thursday are from 7.30am to 3.30pm, while on Fridays, working hours are from 7.30am to 12.00pm.
Additionally, for government employees, there is the option to work from home on Fridays and arrange their working hours flexibly.