Bank Holidays and Merdeka

I think I have written this before but the public holidays in the UK, where most businesses and the government ceases operation (normal office ones) are called as bank holiday. It took me a few times hearing the term, to make the connection that bank holiday refers to what is called public holiday in Malaysia. No idea why it is called bank holiday but presumably banks were closed in the olden days and since the banks are closed, businesses would have a hard time maybe so they followed suit.

It also doesn’t help me in adopting the term, when there are only eight bank holidays in the UK. Other than the expected, Christmas (and Boxing Day), New Year and Easter, there is also the early May bank holiday (which falls on the first Monday of May?) and late August Bank Holiday (which falls on the last Monday of August?). There’s another one but I can’t remember from the top of my head.

Going back to the late August bank holiday (BH) which falls on today, it coincidenttally falls on a Malaysian public holiday, which is the Independence Day for Malaysia. It feels a bit ironic to me to be celebrating both holidays, while one of it was caused by colonisation of the other. It then occurred to me that maybe, 31st of August 1957, which was the day Malaysia got its independence, that it was actually a bank holiday in the UK? Was there even a concept of bank holidays in those days?