Employers will have to pay public holiday rates if they want their workers to work tomorrow, said Human Resource Minister Dr S Subramaniam.

He said employees asked to work tomorrow could lodge complaints with the Labour Department if their employers failed to pay them public holiday rates.

"Tomorrow (Dec 31) has been declared a public holiday. It is within employees' rights to be paid public holiday rates," he told reporters today.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Razak had announced tomorrow as a public holiday following the national football team winning the AFF Suzuki Cup for the first time in Jakarta the same day, ending a 14-year wait to lift the fabulous Cup.

Earlier, Subramaniam had witnessed T Thurgashree, four, from Bukit Mertajam, do 1,111 sit ups in 32 minutes and 21 seconds to enter the Malaysian Book of Records (MBR).

Also entering the MBR was T Logassree, eight, who succeeded in lifting steel bars and plates weighting 21kg with just her little fingers.

- Bernama