The government has changed the scheduled joint leave for Eid al-Fitr 1444 Hijri from 21st-26th April to 19-25th April 2023.
The reason behind this change is to avoid the potential for a buildup of peak homecoming or “mudik“ traffic on 21st April, if the previous holiday schedule scenario had been implemented.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi stated that the change was decided in a limited meeting regarding preparations for homecoming traffic led directly by President Joko Widodo at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, last Friday.
Sumadi said that he and the Indonesian National Police Chief, General Police Listyo Sigit Prabowo, were the teams who proposed to change the schedule for the 2023 Eid joint leave. With the long leave configuration, there is the potential for an extraordinary accumulation of homecoming flows on 21st April.
“Traditionally, the desire to go home is very high with a lot of volumes and if you look at it in the same direction, only on the 21st there will be an extraordinary buildup,” said Sumadi.
“By bringing this forward, travellers can start from the afternoon of the 18th (April), 19th, 20th, 21st“.
The Religion Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah, Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim, and Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform Abdullah Azwar Anas have all previously issued a letter regarding national holidays and joint leave in 2023.
The Eid Al-Fitr national holiday this year falls on 22nd-23rd April.