Malaysians in Singapore Risk Losing Jobs If They Return to Malaysia

Many Malaysians who are currently working in Singapore have been faced with a difficult decision:

• Return home to be with their family and risk losing their jobs, or 

• Stay put and miss the company of their loved ones.

Flight attendant Noorshafira Hanim, 28, said she has not been able to go home to see her family since Malaysia imposed the Movement Control Order (MCO) on March 18. “I used to visit Penang weekly or at least twice a month. This is the longest time I have not been home,” she added.

She does not have much choice. She said she could choose to return home and be with her family but she could lose her job. This is not a choice she can make since she is the breadwinner in the family.

Noorshafira said her employer has encouraged her and her coworkers to take unpaid leave but she is worried that if she took up the offer, she might eventually lose her job. 

Her fears are not unfounded. She said one of her friends chose to accept a similar offer and was eventually dismissed by her company for failing to return to work on time.

“It gets depressing sometimes. I live alone in Singapore and I’m on a tight budget, but it eases my worries knowing that I am still earning a monthly income and able to take care of all the bills at home,” she said. To beat the solitude, she makes daily video calls to her family

 
Not many of them have the choice to work from home

Maria Hanif, 27, a senior customer service officer at a fitness centre in Singapore, has accepted the opportunity to work from her home in Johor Baru. She said commuting daily to work was not impossible given the need to undergo a 14-day mandatory self-isolation.

Maria is also concerned about the likelihood of a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases if people are permitted to travel freely between the two countries again.

“We are all playing our part to fight the virus. But what if someone is not adhering to the SOP (standard operating procedures) and starts spreading the virus around? I pray hard that the number of cases won’t spike again when the borders are open,” she added.

Maria had earlier thought to look for another job in Singapore but realised that she might not be given the choice to work from home. She considers herself lucky acknowledging that others like her have lost their jobs in Singapore when the Covid-19 virus hit and both countries went into lockdowns.

“I do hope the Singapore government would be more considerate to Malaysians who are stuck in Singapore for a long time. Let them visit their families without risking their jobs since Singapore is a very expensive country to stay in,” she said.

“Many workers are no longer receiving their full salary and it is not worth it to spend more money to stay in Singapore,” she added.

Source: The Sun Daily

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