PETALING JAYA: Get your calendars out to plan for weekend getaways as there are seve­ral long weekends to look forward to in 2018.

There are five official long weekends, which are for New Year’s Day (Jan 1), Chinese New Year (Feb 16), Hari Raya Puasa (June 15), National Day (Aug 31) and Malaysia Day (Sept 16). These holidays either fall on a Friday, Sunday or Monday.

The New Year’s Day holiday is not applicable for those residing in Johor, Kedah, Ke­lantan, Perlis and Terengganu.

However, Malaysians can enjoy a total of 11 long weekends by taking a day’s leave along with Labour Day (May 1), We­­sak Day (May 29), Awal Muharram (Sept 11), Deepavali (Nov 6), Prophet Muham­mad’s birthday (Nov 20) and Christmas (Dec 25).

These holidays fall on a Tuesday, so those who take leave on the Mondays preceding the holidays can enjoy a nice long weekend break.

In 2017, there were 10 official long weekends, including special events such as the installation of Sultan Muhammad V as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong (April 24) and the celebration of Malaysia’s achievements in the SEA Games (Sept 4).

Malaysians would have enjoyed a total of 12 long weekends this year if a day’s leave was taken for the weekend of Thai­pusam (Feb 9) and National Day (Aug 31).