Images of Closed Shops in Lifeless JB City Square Shows The Damage from SG-MY Border Closure

People in Singapore are not the only ones eagerly awaiting the reopening of the Singapore-Malaysia borders.

No, not stage 1, stage 2 thingy:

The stage which allows us to go into JB for some cheap makan and retail therapy.

Reader Bao: Huh? Who else besides us who wants to feel 3x richer when we get there?

The people we are giving the money to, that’s who.

Images of Closed Shops in Lifeless JB City Square Shows The Damage from SG-MY Border Closure

With the SG-MY borders kept shut for the past few months, it’s not just Singaporeans who are hurting; Malaysian businesses are hurting too.

Suddenly, a huge influx of their customers is not able to cross the causeway to spend money on them.

Reader Bao: Where’s the proof? NPNT.

Didn’t I tell you not to venture into HWZ?

Reader Bao: But-but…they’re so fun.

Questionable preferences aside, Bao has a point; we can’t say this without proof, so here you go:

In a Facebook post uploaded on 19 July, Facebook user Lee Meng Fei shared a couple of pictures taken in JB City Square.

The pictures were allegedly taken at on a Sunday afternoon at 12pm.

MekDi, which is assumed to be McDonald’s, has allegedly moved away too.

The mall, while it used to be emptier during the weekdays, is always bustling on the weekends.

Not anymore.

The entire concourse, which typically has a sale of some sort going on, is empty and lifeless

And the many small shops within the inner city doesn’t seem to have survived the pandemic

The Damage in Numbers

In 2019, about 10.2 million people entered Malaysia from Singapore.

About 7.9 million were Singaporeans and we are Malaysia’s top tourist market, followed by Indonesia and China.

Before borders were shut, about 300,000 travellers used the causeway daily, and 100,000 of them are those who commute daily for work or school.

So with the shutdown of borders, it’s not just businesses in Malaysia suffering.

Many Malaysian workers who were commuting daily into Singapore for work also faced troubles of their own.

Those who chose to stay suddenly have their expenses tripled as they had to look for a place to stay, as well as cope with the sudden increase in the cost of living.

Others who decide not to be stuck in Singapore became jobless and returned home.

Then, there are those who stayed initially, but lost their jobs or couldn’t cope with the costs, and decided to call it quits.

While many are probably hoping that daily commute and travel is permitted again, it’s likely that we won’t see it happen anytime soon, according to Ms Aarathi Arumugam, president of the Malaysian Association in Singapore.

The Latest Development In The SG-MY Border Reopening

On 14 July, it was announced that Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to let long-term pass holders and business travellers travel between the two countries.

D-Day: 10 Aug 2020.

This was announced by Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein in a joint statement.

The aim is to have all the systems and processes in place by D-Day.

How It Works:

Only Singapore residents and Malaysia residents who hold long-term immigration pass for business or work purposes will be allowed to travel between both countries.

Sadly, this still doesn’t apply to the thousands of people who enter Singapore to work on a daily basis.

For Periodic Commuting Arrangement:

So let’s say a Malaysian worker is working in NTUC Fairprice.

He has to stay and work in Singapore for at least three months before he can return to Malaysia for a short-term home leave.

Then, he has to return to Singapore to work for another three months before he can go home again.

So those NTUC Fairprice Malaysian workers still have to decide if they want to leave their jobs, or find a place in Singapore to stay while working.

But at least mothers can go home for a short while instead of sending frozen breast milk back to their babies.

For Essential Business or Official Visits:

Eligible travellers must obey the “prevailing Covid-19 prevention and public health measures agreed upon by Singapore and Malaysia.

They must also undergo the PCR swab tests as well to test for Covid-19.

In addition, eligible travellers have to submit a “controlled itinerary” to the relevant authorities of the country they’re travelling to and keep to it during the visit.

More Details Will Be Revealed 10 Days Before

As with the usual state of affairs with anything related to Covid-19, not many details have been firmed up yet.

While D-Day is scheduled for 10 Aug 2020, it is unclear who qualifies for the green lane and period commuting arrangement.

Previously, back in May 2020, Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said that “senior management for multinational companies and skilled technicians who need to maintain critical systems around the world” are considered as essential business travellers.

However, both countries have set a deadline for themselves: All requirements, health protocols and the application will be revealed 10 days before they are implemented (read: 10 days before 10 Aug 2020).

They will also not be stopping there, and instead, will continue to move on to develop safe ways for Singapore and Malaysia to resume daily commute for work purposes, as well as, hopefully, leisure.

The priority here, of course, is to keep the people and country safe while economic activities resume.

Now that you know about the state of JB, you might as well just watch our video on how WiFi routers work and how you can make them fast even at home: