Yoursay | Malaysia, Singapore should have work together on proactive measures

YOURSAY | ‘We can fight the Covid-19 virus without destroying our economy.’

M'sians working in S'pore can't commute beginning tomorrow - Immigration DG

Annonymous: Without warning, hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost, a huge chunk of daily paid Malaysian workers will be jobless and their families will suffer.

Why this sudden sledgehammer approach (stopping Malaysians from commuting daily to Singapore for work for two weeks until March 31)?

We could easily monitor the situation first and gradually impose restrictions where needed, without causing so much pain and destruction.

Singapore is our closest neighbour and closing the borders will certainly have no impact on the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia, but it will cause untold short-term and negative long-term impact on Johor and Malaysia.

Ignoring consultation and diplomatic protocol on such a serious matter will definitely affect the economies of both countries.

We are certain that this will only provoke countermeasures and motivate Singapore to act decisively to protect their future interest.

The move will also drastically reduce and eliminate the sourcing of goods, supplies, services and labour from our country.

The republic will now look to other more reliable countries at great expense to Johor and Malaysia.

Ferdtan: Does this mean that Malaysians who are working in Singapore would lose their job if they are not allowed to go to work? This is sheer stupidity.

The Malaysian government should have come up with a plan with its counterpart in Singapore for a win-win situation - to save jobs.

Please don't forget, my backdoor government, that many of those working in Singapore are Malays.

Annonnymous 080: More than 300,000 Malaysians have been travelling to Singapore to work, adding to its three million workforce to fuel its economy.

Even though some of these workers (based on their earnings in Singapore dollars) are not going to become poor overnight due to their loss in wages, their two-week absence should be fully compensated for.

Anonymous_3c17b8f6: There are some logical options we could take:

1) All must self-quarantine themselves when they are back in Malaysia.

2) Designate specific shops or hypermarkets for them to do their shopping, from 10pm till 2am (for example).

3) Only those with work permits in Singapore can travel. All others using social passes should remain in Johor Bahru.

4) Stagger entrance and exit hours to prevent large crowds at Immigration Centres.

Anonymous_1582616094849.44531582615500673: Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud, your comment on this ban on disallowing Malaysians travelling to Singapore to work is like shooting ourselves in the foot.

With no income, no salary and no food on the table, are you expecting our new backdoor government to come to the aid of the affected workers?

We can fight the Covid-19 virus without destroying our economy.

Anonymous_1527925538: As the order stands, how does the Immigration Department compensate all those who might lose their income overnight? Don’t you realise the implications are great and will affect both countries?

I strongly believe a discussion is needed between Malaysia and Singapore to clear up this mess.

Ipoh Pp: These 300,000 Malaysian citizens working in Singapore have contributed so much to the Malaysian economy. And when they need help from our government, they are thrown under the bus.

Let’s wait and see for the knee-jerk response by the newly formed backdoor government.

How are they going to ensure that 300,000 Malaysians who live in Johor and other states and work in Singapore won’t lose their jobs? What will the Johor sultan do?

Anonymous_1404366050: Can the authorities define the sectors supplying food between Malaysia and Singapore?

The kedai kopi/restaurants/food stalls all claim they are not affected when they are actually hosts of human gatherings. Can someone please clarify this?

Truth Will Always Prevail: What about all transport of cargo from Malaysia to Singapore by road? Are you going to ban that too?

Anonymous_1582889872725.53521582889275614: The government has totally ignored the needs of those who make a living by working in Singapore.

I hope these 300,000 voters will teach this insensitive government for destroying their right to earn an honest living.

The government could have acted earlier when they can but they were too busy playing their backdoor political game to seize power.

Kalui 64: MCA president Wee Ka Siong, where are you? Your fellow Johoreans will not be able to work in Singapore. What are you going to do to help them?

They will lose millions of Singapore dollars for the next two weeks. Imagine losing half your salary with a family to feed?

Sniper: This must be probably the largest temporary overnight migration of people across the border in the history of humankind. - Mkini