Malaysia in recession-hit Singapore face retrenchment

Discussions General
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Wednesday October 22, 2008
[size=150]Malaysians in recession-hit Singapore face retrenchment[/size]
By NELSON BENJAMIN, GLADYS TAY and MOHD FARHAAN SHAH

JOHOR BARU: Tens of thousands of Malaysian workers from the services and manufacturing sectors in Singapore will be retrenched when employers, hit by the recession, start downsizing in the island republic.

Though the recession has not translated to retrenchment, Malay-sian workers in Singapore are starting to feel jittery over the prospect of losing their jobs if the countrys economy takes a turn for the worse.

At the same time, Johor is taking early steps, including playing job matchmaker, to ensure those retren-ched can quickly be matched with jobs available locally.

For many Malaysians working in Singapore, the main concern is how to continue supporting their families if they are retrenched. Some said they were willing to take a pay cut and return to Malaysia. Others were even prepared take up two jobs back home to supplement their income.

Single mother Karen Lee is worried she may not be able to support her only daughter through college if she loses her job.

My daughter is taking her SPM this year and plans to further her studies in Taiwan, said the factory operator, adding that she was willing to take up a job in Malaysia at a lower salary if she were retrenched.

Lee, who earns S$1,500 (RM3,600) a month, stays in a rented room in Woodlands, Singapore while her daughter lives with her mother in Johor Baru.

Technician N. Soomu, 34, who was retrenched in 2002, said the experience was a nightmare.

This time around, he is taking steps to safeguard his job including taking up a technical course.

Soomu has been working in Singapore for the past 10 years and earns about S$1,200. He travels daily to Singapore from Johor Baru as it is cheaper to live in Johor.

Johor Unity, Human Resource, Science, Technology and Innovation committee chairman M. Asojan said there were many job opportunities within Iskandar Malaysia.

We need 4,000 people for the oil and gas sector alone, he said.

Johor Labour Department deputy director Ruzita Bahari advised locals to visit its website at jobsmalaysia.gov.my or contact the department at 07-2275080 for job opportunities.

According to Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, some 300,000 Malaysians are working in Singapore.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/22/nation/2277521&sec=nation

Haiyooo, market job very competitive nowadays.

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wooo…many johor people will lose job…ouch…

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Johor people still ok. But how about Malaysian people work at Singapore? Really sad. Singapore one of the best country. How come this happen to Singapore?

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Same thing happen to Malaysian working in Brunei before.

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Even our government has assured people that Malaysia is not in recession, lots of companies are feeling the pinch of recession through the reduction in sales and productions, and tightening of credit availability. Sharp falls of the commodities prices especially oil palm, rubber, etc have worried many companies to reduce the scale of operations.
Many companies are taking precautionary measures to reduce the impact of recession by reducing costs & expenses which ultimately affecting the salary increment and bonus of the workers by year-end. Therefore, LESS MONEY in the pocket = LESS SPENDING = ECONOMY SLOWDOWN

So, be prepared for the worst this coming months… :frowning:

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what’s happening is, in singapore, the government tells its people that recession might be coming so be prepared, financially. operationally, psychologically, etc. they have very takut leaders.

in malaysia, the government will tell you there’s no recession, we are doing well, don’t worry 's everything under control, let spend more money, stop spreading rumours, our fundamentals are very good, etc. etc. etc. we have very positive thinking leaders.

from what i read last 2 weeks. singapore is NOT in recession yet…
malaysia, i don’t know…

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Singapore’s gov’t has always been very good about ensuring the financial stability of the nation. Recessions are a fact of a life and it’s something EVERY country has to deal with. It comes down to how the gov’t deals with and prepares for it.

If they were irresponsible and did not prepare local businesses for the coming recession, many of those businesses will not survive the recession. That would result in MORE job losses. Plus if fewer companies make it out the recession, there’ll be fewer job openings for locals and foreigners when the economy picks up again. Sure it’ll be tough for everyone in the short run, but in the long run it’s better for all involved.

Everyone just need to tighten their purse strings and be more thrifty. No more 12 dollar cup of Frappacinos… or however much they cost nowadays.

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i think if the operation begins,johor people will get the most impact…lot’s of johor people working in singapore…perhaps one day,malaysia will chase all those indon back to indon too…singapore will also need to pay alot of compensation to all those who is working in singapore…no job,no money,no nothing…susah lah like that…

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I friend told me a joke, but in serious way, that the only country not affected by world economy / finance crisis is North Korea. When all our trade partners are in recession, how can we be doing well? Our domestic spending simply can’t shield us from the world economy. There is time being optimistic is good, but not this time. If those who insists, than that’s a lie :twisted:

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Recession is necessary in the capitalist society, it is simply part of the process of correction and consolidation. It is time for those to re-think and regurgitate their fundamentals. No one is immune to recession in the globalised economy. We must all face it positively and prudently.

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can someone please answer my simple questions:

why would a singapore company fire cheaper (may be even more hard working) foreign workers instead of higher paid singaporeans?
why would a malaysia company fire cheaper (may be even more hard working) indon workers instead of higher paid malaysians?

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My answer to Q1: Because the higher paid S’porean is willing to take a paycut and take on the foreign worker workload.
MY answer to Q2: Because the hard working Indo worker cannot sustained the higher workload left vacant by the higher paid malaysian.

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[quote=“CONO”]My answer to Q1: Because the higher paid S’porean is willing to take a paycut and take on the foreign worker workload.
MY answer to Q2: Because the hard working Indo worker cannot sustained the higher workload left vacant by the higher paid malaysian.[/quote]

moo to you too

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[quote=“stupidhead”]can someone please answer my simple questions:

why would a singapore company fire cheaper (may be even more hard working) foreign workers instead of higher paid singaporeans?
why would a malaysia company fire cheaper (may be even more hard working) indon workers instead of higher paid malaysians?[/quote]

answer: to keep money in the country

question: how much money to foreign workers take out of Malaysia each year?

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[quote=“maxwell”]
answer: to keep money in the country

question: how much money to foreign workers take out of Malaysia each year?[/quote]

Employers won’t have time to worry about that. Lowering opex is their no.1 priority !

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