Johorians flock to Singapore job fair
As the Malaysian ringgit continues to weaken against the Singapore dollar, it is no surprise that more Malaysians are hoping to secure a job on this side of the Causeway.
According to the Malaysian Employers Federation, about 900,000 Malaysians are working full-time in Singapore and one in three are even willing to brave the traffic to commute between Johor and Singapore on a daily basis.
That number might increase after more than 2,500 hopefuls on Nov 26 thronged the first Singapore Job Fair. Held at Holiday Villa Johor Bahru, the 8am-to-9pm event attracted not only Johorians but hopefuls hailing from as far as Penang and Perak.
However, there were only 300 vacancies being offered by Singapore-based employers across eight sectors, according Oriental Daily. The roles on offer ranged from waiters and kitchen helpers to hotel and administrative positions.
Factory workers were promised a base salary of about $800 and overtime pay that could pull the gross wage up to $1,800. Based on today's exchange rate, that would give a factory worker a take-home salary of more than RM6,000. In comparison, a factory worker in Johor typically earns about RM2,000 per month.
Mr Chua Jian Boon, Deputy Chief of the Kulai Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) service bureau, wrote in a Facebook post that the job applicants started queuing for the job fair as early as 5.30am.
He cited National Bureau of Statistics for Johor data in stating that Johor unemployment has decreased by 2.4 per cent and said the job fair was fulfilling MCA’s commitment to promoting fair employment.
According to job website Indeed, 32 per cent of hopefuls from Asia who are hoping to find full-time employment in Singapore come from Malaysia.
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