Malaysian
When you look at a Malaysian Malay or Chinese, you can’t even tell them apart from a Singaporean Malay or Chinese. As such, Malaysians don’t face much xenophobia. Only when you hear the Malaysian Chinese speak can you tell that they are Malaysian. Statistics from the Singapore Census of Population 2010 Advance Census Release revealed that 23% of of the resident population were not born in Singapore. Of that 23%, about half are from Malaysia. (Acknowledgements: leongszehian.com) Many Malaysians cross the border everyday to work in all walks of our life, such as the F&B, retail and industrial sector. Obviously, Malaysians are also important in our society.
When you look at a Malaysian Malay or Chinese, you can’t even tell them apart from a Singaporean Malay or Chinese. As such, Malaysians don’t face much xenophobia. Only when you hear the Malaysian Chinese speak can you tell that they are Malaysian. Statistics from the Singapore Census of Population 2010 Advance Census Release revealed that 23% of of the resident population were not born in Singapore. Of that 23%, about half are from Malaysia. (Acknowledgements: leongszehian.com). Many Malaysians cross the border everyday to work in all walks of our life, such as the F&B, retail and industrial sector. Obviously, Malaysians are also important in our society.
Micro FInance Study did a study on Commuting Malaysians Working in Singapore. The results are rather shocking, and it just shows how much Singapore rely on these Malaysian workers. As such, we cannot afford to be xenophobic towards them. 50000 workers commute from Johor Bahru to Singapore to work daily plus there are over 20% of undocumented workers with most working in F&B and manufacturing. Total number of Malaysian work permit holders, undocumented workers, employment pass holders and permanent residents is close to 165,000. Of the Malaysians working in Singapore, 23% were male and 77% were female. Reasons cited of commuting to and working in Singapore are the ease of border crossing between Malaysia and Singapore, its’ close proximity to Malaysia, a strong SGD-MYR exchange rate which means they are able to live inexpensively in Malaysia.