The Malaysia WhatsApp Campaign Calendar: November 2026 to December 2027
Fourteen months of real Malaysian dates from the official holiday list, what to send for each, which template category it falls under, and when people actually read their phones.
Short answer: Malaysia's 2027 campaign year is front-loaded. Chinese New Year falls on Saturday 6 February 2027, Ramadan is expected to begin around 8 February, and Hari Raya Aidilfitri is listed for 10–11 March 2027 (subject to official announcement), so three festive campaigns land within five weeks. Before that come Deepavali (8 November 2026), the 11.11 and 12.12 mega sales and the year-end school holidays from 4–5 December. Later peaks are Hari Raya Haji (17 May), Merdeka (31 August), Malaysia Day (16 September) and Deepavali (28 October 2027). Submit templates four weeks ahead, promote only to opted-in customers, and write in the language each customer uses.
How to use this calendar
The 2027 public holidays below come from the national and state list announced by the Cabinet, Constitution and Inter-Governmental Relations Division of the Prime Minister's Department, as circulated by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers on 27 August 2026. Dates the government marks as subject to change (the two Raya holidays and Deepavali) are labelled here too. Islamic dates are confirmed by the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal after moon sighting, so build campaigns that can move by a day. Three reminders before you plan:
- States differ. Thaipusam is a holiday in seven states and territories, not all; Kaamatan is Sabah and Labuan only; Gawai is Sarawak only; Deepavali is not a holiday in Sarawak. Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu rest on Friday and Saturday; Johor moved back to a Saturday–Sunday weekend from 1 January 2025.
- Promotions are marketing templates (RM 0.3467 per delivered message to a +60 number). Order, booking and delivery updates are utility (RM 0.0564). See our Malaysia pricing guide.
- Submit templates early, one per language. A rejection two days before Raya leaves no time to fix it.
The calendar at a glance
| When | Occasion | What to send | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Nov 2026 (Sun); 9 Nov replacement in most states | Deepavali (not Sarawak) | Greetings in Tamil and English, last-minute gift and sweets delivery, opening hours | Marketing; hours as utility for bookings |
| Early to mid Nov 2026 | 11.11 sales (Wed 11 Nov) | Early-access codes, restock alerts, then order and courier updates | Marketing, then utility |
| 27 Nov 2026 (Fri) | Black Friday (retail convention) | Weekend-only offers for opted-in buyers | Marketing |
| 4–31 Dec 2026 (Group A from 4 Dec, Group B from 5 Dec) | Year-end school holidays | Family travel, staycations, tuition intake for 2027, back-to-school sets | Marketing |
| 12 Dec 2026 (Sat) | 12.12 sales | Year-end clearance, gift bundles, delivery cut-off dates | Marketing; cut-offs as utility for existing orders |
| 25 Dec 2026 (Fri) | Christmas (24 Dec also a holiday in Sabah) | Greetings, holiday hours, last delivery dates | Marketing |
| 4 Jan 2027 (Mon) | 2027 school session opens | Uniform, stationery, transport and tuition reminders | Marketing; fee reminders as utility |
| 22 Jan 2027 (Fri) | Thaipusam (KL, Putrajaya, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Penang, Selangor) | Greetings, closures, travel to Batu Caves and Penang | Marketing; closures as utility for bookings |
| 6–7 Feb 2027 (Sat–Sun) | Chinese New Year | Reunion-dinner bookings, hampers, ang pow packets, CNY hours | Marketing |
| ~8 Feb 2027 | Ramadan begins (Awal Ramadan is a holiday in Johor and Kedah) | Ramadan greeting, buka puasa menus, new hours, Raya pre-orders | Marketing; hours as utility |
| 10–11 Mar 2027 (Wed–Thu) * | Hari Raya Aidilfitri (third day 12 Mar in Melaka) | Raya greetings, balik kampung delivery cut-offs, open-house catering | Marketing; cut-offs as utility |
| 5–14 Mar 2027 | Term 1 school break (A 5–13, B 6–14 Mar) | Family packages around Raya | Marketing |
| 1 May 2027 (Sat) | Labour Day | Long-weekend offers | Marketing |
| 17 May 2027 (Mon) * | Hari Raya Haji (second day 18 May in Kelantan and Terengganu) | Greetings, korban orders, closures | Marketing; orders as utility |
| 20 May 2027 (Thu) | Wesak Day | Greetings, vegetarian menus, temple-visit hours | Marketing |
| 21 May–6 Jun 2027 | Mid-year school holidays (A from 21 May, B from 22 May) | Holiday camps, travel, tuition revision | Marketing |
| 30–31 May; 1–2 Jun 2027 | Kaamatan (Sabah, Labuan); Gawai (Sarawak) | Festival greetings in Malay or English, local promotions | Marketing |
| 6–7 Jun 2027 (Sun–Mon) | Awal Muharram; Agong's official birthday | Closures and long-weekend hours | Utility for bookings |
| 15 Aug 2027 (Sun) | Maulidur Rasul | Greetings, closures | Marketing |
| Aug 2027, peaking 31 Aug (Tue) | Merdeka (Hari Kebangsaan); term 2 break 27 Aug–5 Sep | "Merdeka" promotions, patriotic greetings, family offers | Marketing |
| 9 Sep 2027 (Thu) | 9.9 sales | Early-access codes, restocks | Marketing |
| 16 Sep 2027 (Thu) | Malaysia Day | Greetings, long-weekend offers | Marketing |
| 10 Oct 2027 (Sun) | 10.10 sales | Pre-Deepavali offers | Marketing |
| 28 Oct 2027 (Thu) * | Deepavali (not Sarawak) | Greetings, sweets, sarees and jewellery, open-house catering | Marketing |
| 11 Nov 2027 (Thu); 26 Nov (Fri) | 11.11; Black Friday | Sale campaigns, then order updates | Marketing, then utility |
| 3/4–31 Dec 2027; 12 Dec (Sun); 25 Dec (Sat) | Year-end school holidays; 12.12; Christmas | Travel, gifts, 2028 back-to-school, holiday hours | Marketing |
* Marked "subject to change" on the official list. 9 November 2026 is the Deepavali replacement holiday in states that rest on Sunday. Where a 2027 holiday falls on a weekly rest day, the next working day is normally given as a replacement, so check your state for 8 February, 8 June and 16 August 2027.
November–December 2026: Deepavali, mega sales and the long school break
Deepavali, 8 November 2026
Deepavali falls on a Sunday this year, with Monday 9 November the replacement holiday across most of the country (not Sarawak, and Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu follow their own Friday–Saturday weekend). Indian-owned jewellers in Klang and Brickfields, sweet shops and saree boutiques send their heaviest volume in the ten days before. Greet in Tamil where the customer writes in Tamil:
தீபாவளி நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் {{1}}! எங்கள் புதிய முறுக்கு மற்றும் இனிப்பு பெட்டிகள் தயாராக உள்ளன. ஆர்டர் செய்ய இந்த செய்திக்கு பதில் அனுப்புங்கள். Reply STOP to opt out.
11.11 and 12.12
Malaysia's mega sales are run by the marketplaces, but brands with their own store ride the same wave. Last year the big platforms ran their 11.11 campaigns over several days around the date (Lazada's closed at 11:59 p.m. on 13 November 2025, Shopee's ran to 14 November) and Shopee's 12.12 birthday sale ran from 1 to 14 December 2025. For WhatsApp, the pattern that works is: one early-access message to your best customers two or three days before, one reminder on the day, then utility messages for every order. Do not send three promotions in a week to the whole list; it is the fastest way to collect blocks during the season when everyone else is also messaging.
Year-end school holidays: 4–31 December 2026
The 2026 school year ends early in December (from 4 December for Group A states, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu; from 5 December for Group B, everyone else). This is peak season for family travel to Langkawi, Cameron Highlands and Genting, and for tuition centres signing up students for 2027. It is also the back-to-school buying window ahead of the 4 January 2027 opening.
January–March 2027: three festivals in five weeks
Thaipusam, 22 January
A holiday in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Penang and Selangor. Expect traffic and closures around Batu Caves and Penang's Waterfall Hill Temple; restaurants and retailers nearby should send opening-hours updates to customers who have bookings, and greetings only to those who opted in to promotions.
Chinese New Year, 6–7 February
The Year of the Goat begins on a Saturday, so the visiting days run straight into the first week of Ramadan. Restaurants should open reunion-dinner bookings in early January; hamper and bakery businesses send their main campaign in the second half of January. Simplified Chinese is the norm for Malaysian Chinese customers:
{{1}} 您好！新春将至，我们的团圆饭套餐现已开放预订，名额有限。回复 1 立即预订。祝您羊年吉祥，万事如意！回复 STOP 取消订阅。
Ramadan, from about 8 February
For Muslim customers the day shifts: busy just before buka puasa, quiet during terawih prayers, and active again late at night and before sahur. Promotions sent mid-afternoon compete with fatigue; after terawih, roughly from 9.30 p.m., is usually a better slot. Ramadan bazaars, kuih makers and caterers live on WhatsApp pre-orders in this month. A marketing template in natural Malay:
Salam Ramadan {{1}}! Tempahan kuih raya dan set juadah berbuka kami dah dibuka. Tempah sebelum {{2}} untuk penghantaran percuma sekitar Lembah Klang. Balas STOP untuk berhenti terima promosi.
Hari Raya Aidilfitri, 10–11 March (subject to announcement)
The biggest single moment for Malay-majority customers. Send delivery cut-off dates as utility messages to customers with open orders a week before, and Raya greetings to opted-in contacts the evening before or on the morning of 1 Syawal. Keep greetings short and personal; a long promotional message on Raya morning reads badly:
Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, {{1}}! Maaf zahir dan batin daripada kami sekeluarga di {{2}}. Kedai kami bercuti dan akan dibuka semula pada {{3}}.
Many businesses run Raya open-house and catering promotions throughout Syawal, the month after Ramadan, so the campaign does not end on day two.
April–September 2027: Haji, harvest festivals and Merdeka
Hari Raya Haji, Wesak and the mid-year holidays
Hari Raya Haji is listed for Monday 17 May (with 18 May also a holiday in Kelantan and Terengganu, and Arafah Day on 16 May in Kelantan and Terengganu); butchers and mosque-adjacent suppliers handle korban orders, which are utility once the order exists. Wesak Day falls three days later on Thursday 20 May. The mid-year school break starts the following weekend, so May is one long holiday stretch for families.
Kaamatan and Gawai
Sabah and Labuan celebrate Kaamatan on 30–31 May; Sarawak celebrates Gawai Dayak on 1–2 June. Businesses in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching should treat these as their own Raya-sized peaks: "Kopivosian Tadau Tagazo Do Kaamatan" and "Selamat Hari Gawai, Gayu Guru Gerai Nyamai" are the familiar greetings, and city-to-kampung travel shapes delivery times. Do not send Peninsular-only campaigns to East Malaysian contacts and vice versa; segment by state.
Merdeka and Malaysia Day
National Day is Tuesday 31 August and Malaysia Day Thursday 16 September; the term 2 school break (27 August to 5 September) sits between them. Retailers use "Merdeka sale" pricing throughout August. A natural bilingual marketing template for a Malaysian brand:
Selamat Hari Kebangsaan, {{1}}! Sempena Merdeka, nikmati diskaun {{2}} untuk semua produk hingga 31 Ogos. Happy National Day from all of us. Balas STOP untuk berhenti.
October–December 2027: Deepavali and the second sales season
Deepavali 2027 falls on Thursday 28 October (marked subject to change; not a holiday in Sarawak), so 10.10 sales double as the pre-Deepavali campaign. 11.11 is a Thursday and Black Friday is 26 November. The 2027 school year ends on 2 December for Group A and 3 December for Group B, with the 2028 session starting on 3 January 2028. 12.12 is a Sunday and Christmas a Saturday.
Sending windows and frequency
| Audience or period | Better times | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| General consumer promotions | Weekday lunch (12.00–2.00 p.m.) and evening (8.00–10.00 p.m.) | Before 9 a.m. and after 10 p.m. |
| Muslim customers on Fridays | Morning or after 3 p.m. | Midday, when men attend Friday prayers |
| Ramadan | After terawih (from about 9.30 p.m.) | The hour before buka puasa |
| Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu | Sunday to Thursday for B2B | Friday and Saturday (their weekend) for B2B |
| Raya, CNY and Deepavali mornings | A short greeting only, the evening before or early on the day | Long promotional messages on the festival morning |
These are practical suggestions, not legal rules; Malaysia has no statutory time window for marketing messages. In QuickWA you can set a sending window in Settings so scheduled broadcasts wait until it opens; it is off unless you turn it on. Keep marketing to roughly one or two messages per customer per week even in peak season, and always include the way to stop.
Template planning checklist
- Four weeks ahead: write each festive template in every language you serve (Malay, Chinese, Tamil, English) and submit them; each translation is reviewed separately.
- Three weeks ahead: segment by language, state and last purchase. Sabah and Sarawak contacts get Kaamatan and Gawai, not Peninsular-only offers.
- Two weeks ahead: prepare the utility templates you will need (cut-off dates, delivery updates, holiday hours) with no promotional lines.
- One week ahead: schedule broadcasts; check that every marketing template includes "Balas STOP" or "Reply STOP". In QuickWA, English keywords such as STOP and UNSUBSCRIBE opt contacts out automatically.
- On the day: answer replies inside the conversation (service messages, first 1,000 per number free each month) rather than sending new templates.
For consent and opt-out rules see our Malaysian marketing rules guide; for setup and integrations see our Malaysia page.
Sources
- Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, "Public Holidays in Malaysia for Year 2027 – National and State" (announced by the Cabinet, Constitution and Inter-Governmental Relations Division, Prime Minister's Department; circular dated 27 August 2026): fmm.org.my (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, 2026 national and state holiday list (November–December 2026 dates): fmm.org.my (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- Prime Minister's Department, Cabinet Division holiday page (official source; unreachable from our network on 26 Oct 2026): kabinet.gov.my
- RTM Berita, "KPM umum Sesi Persekolahan 2027 bermula 4 Januari" (3 October 2026): berita.rtm.gov.my (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- eCentral, 2027 school holiday table citing the KPM academic calendar (term breaks): ecentral.my (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- Malay Mail, Johor's return to a Saturday–Sunday weekend from January 2025: malaymail.com (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- Malay Mail press releases on 2025 mega sales: Lazada 11.11, Shopee 11.11 (SAYS), Shopee 12.12 (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- Meta, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing: developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing (checked 26 Oct 2026)
Frequently asked questions
When is Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2027 in Malaysia? +
The official 2027 holiday list gives Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 March 2027, marked subject to change. The final date is announced after moon sighting, so plan campaigns that can move by a day.
When is Chinese New Year 2027 in Malaysia? +
Chinese New Year falls on Saturday 6 February 2027, with the second day on Sunday 7 February. Ramadan is expected to start around 8 February, so the two campaigns run back to back.
When are Malaysian school holidays in December 2026? +
The year-end break runs from 4 December 2026 for Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu (Group A) and from 5 December for all other states (Group B) until 31 December. The 2027 school session opens on 4 January 2027.
What time should I send WhatsApp promotions during Ramadan in Malaysia? +
After terawih prayers, roughly from 9.30 p.m., usually works better than mid-afternoon. Avoid the hour before buka puasa. Send order updates whenever they happen; they are utility messages.
Should Raya and CNY greetings be marketing templates? +
A greeting from a business to customers is generally marketing. Holiday opening hours or delivery cut-offs sent to customers with existing bookings or orders can be utility, as long as they contain no promotion.
Is Deepavali a public holiday everywhere in Malaysia? +
No. Deepavali is a national holiday except in Sarawak. In 2026 it falls on Sunday 8 November with a replacement holiday on Monday 9 November in most states; in 2027 it falls on Thursday 28 October, marked subject to change.