Kuwait 2008 New Year Holiday To Remain On January 1st

Sources: Kuwait Times and Kuwait public holidays. Despite the recent change to the law moving some mid-week public holidays to the first day of the following week, it was announced, earlier today, by Kuwait’s Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chairman Abdulaziz Al-Sebin that Tuesday, January 1, 2008, would be observed as the (Western) New Year public holiday, and that as such, all Kuwaiti ministries and state agencies would be off on that day.

Normally, this public holiday should have been observed on Sunday, January 6, 2008. The special treatment afforded to this specific public holiday, while Islamic New Year, and the Prophet's birthday and Ascension, are still scheduled to be moved from mid-week, has angered many Muslim groups in Kuwait, and an Islamist MP, Walid Al-Tabtabaei, has recently introduced a bill which would force the Government to make the January 1st public holiday also move to the next Sunday.