Share to help stimulate good governance, ensure future of people & M’sia
No News Is Bad News
Carry on with the racial and religious bigotry and Malaysia will be shunned by foreigners as a pariah state. For image info, go to https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/malaysia-s-dangerous-racial-religious-trajectory (Malaysia’s dangerous racial and religious trajectory)
‘Shrinkggit’ - the new ‘international joke’ for Ringgit
KUALA LUMPUR, March 20, 2024: The racial and religious bigots’ reign of Malaysia is not the only international joke.
Singapore’s The Independent has coined a new description of the Ringgit - Shrinkggit!
That may be a joke for shameless bigoted Malaysians but The Independent also reported that the Shrinkggit has resulted in Malaysians flocking to the Island Republic for employment - further deteriorating Malaysia’s brain drain.
And to add further insult to injury, Johor tourism has declined as Singaporeans explore new destinations.
Singaporean tourist arrivals in Johor have significantly declined. Only 10.62 million Singaporeans visited Malaysia in 2018. The drop caused Malaysia to miss its target of 26.4 million tourist arrivals.
Sources cite continuing tensions between Singapore and Malaysia for the decline in tourist arrivals. Singaporeans who have visited Johor in the recent months also complained of overcrowded checkpoints, long queues at the Malaysian immigration as well as horrible traffic conditions.
And this only the case of Singapore nationals shunning Malaysia. What about other tourists in the rest of the world?
No News Is Bad News reproduces below The Independent news reports:
“Shrinkggit” — Strong Singdollar doubled job applications from Malaysia
ByAnna Maria Romero
MARCH 18, 2024
SINGAPORE: In Singapore news, the strong Singapore dollar is causing job applications to double, a Malaysian daily reported recently. The Singdollar has grown against the ringgit since the pandemic began.
Ms Linda Teo, country manager at Singapore recruitment agency ManpowerGroup, was quoted in Malaysia’s Business Times (BT) on March 15 (Friday) as saying that the number of applications received from Malaysian applicants from December 2023 to January 2024 is two times the number of applications they received from December 2022 to January 2023.
“The strengthening of the Singapore dollar against the ringgit over the past few months has led to a surge of Malaysian job seekers applying for positions in Singapore.
Increased income opportunities due to the stronger Singapore dollar are among the key motivating factors,” she said.
Moreover, Ms Teo noted that there has been an increase in applications from Malaysians living in areas other than Johor, the closest state to Singapore.
BT also noted that among the 1.86 million Malaysians who lived overseas in 2020, the vast majority (1.13 million) lived in Singapore. These individuals worked in Singapore, married to a Singaporean, or simply lived there.
Some have called the ringgit the “shrinkggit” due to its seeming freefall.
On Feb 21, the ringgit reached an all-time low against the Singapore dollar, falling to MYR 3.5725 to SGD 1. The exchange rate was MYR 3.56 to SGD 1 the previous day. However, the ringgit has rallied since then and is now at MYR 3.526 to SGD 1.
Ms Teo also said that ManpowerGroup receives applications from Malaysians for the retail, food and beverage, and administration sectors.
Jobseekers also look for employment in the corporate sector, particularly those who commute between the two countries.
She added, “For Malaysians possessing relevant technical skills, there is a notable interest in positions within the engineering and manufacturing industries.”
Nevertheless, concerns over Brain Drain, the phenomenon of top talent leaving a country due to more attractive salaries elsewhere, persist.
A study released last month by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) and the Ministry of Economy highlights the country’s brain drain to greener pastures with better pay, specifically Singapore and Brunei.
Nearly two in five Malaysians (39 per cent) in Singapore are skilled workers, and almost as many (35 per cent) are semi-skilled workers. /TISG
Malaysia’s brain drain: More Malaysian skilled and semi-skilled workers employed in Singapore and Brunei
ByAnna Maria Romero
FEBRUARY 22, 2024
SINGAPORE: A study released earlier this week by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) and the Ministry of Economy highlights the country’s brain drain to greener pastures with better pay, specifically Singapore and Brunei.
Nearly two in five Malaysians (39 per cent) in Singapore are skilled workers, and almost as many (35 per cent) are semi-skilled workers.
In Brunei, the numbers are even higher, with 68 per cent skilled workers and 24.1 semi-skilled workers among Malaysians residing there, said Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin.
These figures are from a 2022 study called ‘Social Security Protection for Malaysian Citizens Working Abroad: Singapore’ study and the Malaysian Diaspora Study in Brunei in 2023.
“For monthly gross salary, it was found that 66.7 per cent of respondents working in Singapore receive salaries ranging from S$1,500 to S$3,599, and 18.5 per cent get salaries between S$3,600 and S$9,999,” he noted.
As for Malaysians working in Brunei, 41.3 per cent receive monthly gross salaries between S$1,000 and S$3,000, and 43.5 per cent receive between S$3,001 and S$10,000, Mr Mohd Uzir added.
The highest salary Malaysians earn is S$18,000 in Singapore and S$15,000 in Brunei.
The biggest incentive for Malaysians to work in Singapore and Brunei is financial, with higher salaries and better job opportunities and environments.
The currencies of Singapore and Brunei are also more stable than the Malaysian ringgit, which has been experiencing a free fall since last year and was the worst-performing in Southeast Asia in 2023.
Malaysian authorities have warned against “brain drain,” as more skilled and semi-skilled workers have sought employment elsewhere.
This may result in “financial ramifications since a significant portion of those employed abroad originated from the Malaysian education system”.
The authorities added that Malaysians who work overseas should be encouraged to return, saying that a shift in perspective is needed, meaning “that the Malaysian diaspora will eventually return to Malaysia after a predetermined period, thereby contributing their acquired expertise and experiences back to the country.”
In July 2022, Mr Daniel Moss wrote in a Bloomberg Opinion column, “To graduate to the next tier of prosperous economies, Malaysia must staunch the flow of talented citizens abroad.” /TISG
ByAnna Maria Romero
JULY 1, 2022
As Covid-19 pandemic restrictions ease and industries open job opportunities, more Malaysians are being enticed to work elsewhere due to higher pay.
However, this is causing a serious local manpower crunch, and Bloomberg Opinion writer Daniel Moss points out that it’s particularly problematic because it is Malaysia’s top talent who are choosing to work in Singapore.
Mr Moss, who writes about different issues facing Asian nations, pointed out in a June 29 piece the irony of Malaysia’s economy coming to life at a time when many are choosing to work elsewhere.
“To graduate to the next tier of prosperous economies, Malaysia must staunch the flow of talented citizens abroad.”
He further explained that Malaysia is currently experiencing shortages on two fronts: those who are highly-skilled looking for greener pastures, as well blue-collar workers in short supply due to pandemic border closures and a hiring freeze.
Nevertheless, there are some Malaysians, however, who are opting to work close to home.
The Star recently interviewed several Malaysians who had formerly worked in Singapore who, after the long separation from their families due to Covid, is staying put for now despite the lure of higher pay.
These workers are opting for local jobs instead.
Tan Sheau Hui, 48, a business systems analyst who worked in Singapore for almost three decades, resigned, so she could be with her family.
Fortunately, the Melaka branch of the firm that she worked for in Singapore offered her a job shortly afterwards.
One reason why she decided to stay is concern over borders closing again in the future.
“Although I am now working in Melaka and not living near my family in Johor Bahru, at least I know that in case of any emergency, I can still make my way back home.
That was not the case for me during the pandemic, as I could not simply travel back to Johor from Singapore,” The Star quotes Ms Tan as saying.
Bloomberg’s Mr Moss pointed out that while Singapore is also experiencing a labour crunch, Malaysia appears to be facing greater challenges as it “faces a brain — and brawn — drain, driven by hard-to-extinguish racial preferences that favour ethnic Malays at the expense of minorities.”
He quoted a 2021 World Bank report that said that one-third of Malaysia’s emigrants are highly educated and skilled, who “leave the country for lack of opportunities.
“Malaysia has long aspired to join the ranks of advanced economies and proudly paraded some of the baubles of such status: a domestic auto industry, the world’s tallest building and so on. It would do well to focus on less jazzy but vital components of success, like a labor market that can drive development in coming decades, not a relic of the go-go years of the late twentieth century,” he added. /TISG
Johor Tourism Declines as Singaporeans Explore New Destination
ByShech
APRIL 3, 2019
AVEL
Johor has long been a popular destination for Singaporeans in need of a quick weekend rest and recreation session, but recent tourism data report that Singaporeans might have started looking for other options.
Singaporean tourist arrivals in Johor have significantly declined. Only 10.62 million Singaporeans visited Malaysia in 2018. The drop caused Malaysia to miss its target of 26.4 million tourist arrivals.
Sources cite continuing tensions between Singapore and Malaysia for the decline in tourist arrivals. Singaporeans who have visited Johor in the recent months also complained of overcrowded checkpoints, long queues at the Malaysian immigration as well as horrible traffic conditions.
Local Malaysian food and beverage (f&b) businesses are heavily affected by the lack of tourists.
“Johor’s tourism industry thrives on visitors from Singapore. This has also impacted the services industry in a big way,” stated Ho Su Mong, president of the Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors’ General Association.
But, the hawkers – who are already at the margins – still take the hardest hit. Hawkers at the night markets rely on tourists for 30 percent of their income.
Yow Boon Chuan of the Federation of Hawkers and Petty Traders’ Association Malaysia said that business has already been bad since Chinese New Year.
Singaporeans may have gotten bored of the usual and are on the lookout for new, exciting experiences. Cheap and competitive airfare rates make other destinations such as Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, and Japan more appealing. However, Penang is still the top cruise destination for Singaporeans.
A 2018 tourism survey reported that young working Singaporeans seek holiday destinations that can “make them feel like a child again” and “help to ease the burden of stressful adult life.” And, perhaps driven by the need for documenting Instagram-worthy experiences, Singaporeans say that they prefer to stay in “unique and remarkable types of accommodation.”/TISG
No comments:
Post a Comment