Top 7 reasons Malaysians should not work in Singapore because of higher salaries in 2019

There are many factors why one chooses to work at home country or a different country altogether. For the purpose of today’s discussion, we are only focusing on one factor: Money. We put so much emphasis on Money today that we lost track of what is really real. Money is not even real.

Malaysians and Singaporeans are really one or the other. We are twins of the same mother, culturally and physically. However, along the history, we are split into two nations that developed differently. Relevant to current time, there is a Malaysian diaspora to Singapore. A number to reckon with: 685,979 Malaysians in Singapore with its native 5.62 Million population. That’s 12% of the population!

Which begs the questions why there are so many Malaysians working in Singapore? For majority of them, it is the Money — SGD of 3x the value of MYR that made the decision for them.

Reason №1 Better Pay due to currency differences

Singapore Dollars is about 3.01 to one Malaysian Ringgit at the point of writing. By crossing the border or flight of an hour away, Malaysians can earn 3 times the salary of an average Malaysian working in Malaysia.

Well, that is the illusion. Let me explain.

Singapore is one of the world’s most expensive city to live in more than New York or Tokyo. eg. Very high cost of living. To survive in Singapore, you need a bare minimum of SGD 1200–1500 per month.

You can forget about it if you think you can multiply your salary by three times, thinking that you are earning that much in a month in Malaysian Ringgit terms because most of us will only able to save roughly SGD 500–1000 per month which is a significant portion of a SGD 2500 fresh graduate salary in Singapore.

Why is it an illusion? The cost of living in Singapore plus the peer pressure of living alongside the materialistic and image-conscious society in Singapore means you will have to spend more to maintain yourself there. It is an illusion that you will earn RM 7500 (SGD 2500) and bring home that much. Most of your salary will end up paying for the condominium mortgage of Singaporean owners, eateries, public transports, utility bills and…