Singaporeans working across Causeway speak of trade-offs – after Malaysia minister suggests growing numbers
Expect a gradual trend in niche sectors and leadership roles, but not the general workforce, experts say.
Singaporeans (from left) Doreen Sim, Greg Low and Hafiz Ellahi have lived and worked in Malaysia for more than a decade. (Photos: CNA/Fadza Ishak)
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KUALA LUMPUR: When a Malaysian minister in June doubled down on his previous comments that Singaporeans would go to Malaysia for work, Doreen Sim received sceptical text messages from at least five people.
“The general comment from Singaporeans is, ‘Why go to Malaysia (to earn) less?’” said the 52-year-old Singaporean, who runs an IT firm providing network services and has been living in Kuala Lumpur for the past 20 years.
Sim said it was easy to dismiss Nga Kor Ming – the Malaysian housing and local government minister who made the comments – if people simply compared salaries paid in the Singapore dollar against the Malaysian ringgit.
“It will be a long way before his comments become a reality if the decision to move to Malaysia is solely based on money,” she told CNA.
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This is not the first time Nga has touched on the contentious issue, having previously used it as campaign fodder in the lead-up to the 15th General Election held in November 2022 where he framed it around the hundreds of thousands of Johoreans enduring long commutes to earn higher salaries in Singapore.
He surfaced it again earlier in January 2026 by reposting a clip of his 2022 speech when the ringgit hit a two-year high against the Singapore dollar, but later clarified that his remarks were meant as a joke.
In an interview with local Chinese news site Oriental Daily published on Jun 26, Nga said his statement was not intended to be negative, but to incentivise progress in Malaysia so that Singaporeans would want to work in Malaysia.
“This vision has gradually been turning into reality,” Nga said, citing Swedish multinational fashion brand H&M and breadmaker Gardenia as two examples of companies moving some operations from Singapore to Malaysia.
Nga was responding to a question about whether his remarks might help his Pakatan Harapan coalition win support among cross-border commuters at the Johor state election, which was held last Saturday (Jul 11).
“Minister Nga is not wrong … Singaporeans would be the closest ‘foreign talent’ Malaysia should tap because we literally have the same (multiracial) culture,” said Sim, the Singaporean living in Malaysia.
She added that the upcoming Johor-Singapore projects like the special economic zone (JS-SEZ) and rapid transit system (RTS) – expected to create jobs and ease cross-border movement – could be factors that attract more Singaporeans to work in Malaysia.
“It’s more of the whole experience of working and living in Malaysia,” said Sim.
Meanwhile, Singaporeans who have worked in Malaysia for more than a decade whom CNA spoke to are clear about the trade-off: Salaries could be lower, alongside more bureaucracy and inefficiency, but with relatively lower living costs and higher quality of life, they said.
Entrepreneurs thinking of setting up shop in Malaysia will also benefit from a larger market and lower overheads, they added.
Experts said that while there are growing signs of more Singapore-linked businesses expanding into Malaysia, along with increased cross-border work arrangements and regional roles, the trend remains gradual rather than widespread.
“I believe the trend will remain largely confined to highly skilled professionals, specialists and leadership roles rather than the general workforce,” said Arulkumar Singaraveloo, chief executive officer of the Malaysia HR Forum, a human resource consultancy.
“Cost remains the biggest consideration, and employing Singaporeans on local Malaysian salary packages would often not be financially attractive to either employers or employees.”
TREND CONFINED TO SKILLED TALENT, GROWTH SECTORS
While there are no official figures, the most current estimate indicates that about 120,000 Singaporeans live and work in Malaysia.
In contrast, Malaysia’s then-human resources minister V Sivakumar said in 2023 that 1.13 million Malaysians were living in Singapore as of 2022.
Singaraveloo – the HR expert – said there are currently no official statistics showing a significant increase in the number of Singaporeans working in Malaysia.
Those who do so are typically employed in multinational corporations, finance, technology, manufacturing, education and healthcare, usually in specialised, leadership or regional management roles, he said.
According to Singaraveloo, many are transferred through company secondments or relocation exercises, although some are hired directly by Malaysian employers.
“Their remuneration may be in Singapore dollars or Malaysian ringgit, but where the move is employer-driven, they are often retained on a Singapore or expatriate package,” he added.
“Since many companies relocate operations to Malaysia primarily to reduce operating costs, it would generally not be commercially viable to hire Singaporeans for ordinary roles unless they possess critical expertise or are filling key leadership positions.”
CNA has reached out to Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister R Ramanan’s office for more details on Singaporeans working in Malaysia and any potential trends.
While Malaysia has signalled its ambition to attract more investment and regional talent, the influx of talent from Singapore is likely to happen gradually and selectively, rather than as a broad-based workforce shift, said Ben Neumann, Singapore leader at global career mobility firm Vialto.
“Where we may see growth is in regional, hybrid or project-based roles, Singaporeans working for Singapore-headquartered companies with Malaysia operations, senior leaders overseeing Malaysia teams, or professionals attracted by specific opportunities in growth sectors,” he told CNA.
Neumann said he is seeing a broader trend towards a more “integrated regional talent market”, with companies that expand operations across Southeast Asia increasingly deploying talent across borders based on business needs rather than national boundaries.
The JS-SEZ is a good example of this, with growing investment, closer economic integration, and infrastructure such as the RTS Link expected to make cross-border mobility more practical, he said.
“In other words, the border may become less of a barrier for talent deployment, but compensation, career trajectory and tax considerations will still determine whether Singaporeans will make that move.”
Greg Low, a Singaporean who runs a strategic consultancy for property developers in Malaysia and has been based in Johor Bahru for the past 15 years, said Singaporeans are “not suddenly queuing to cross the Causeway” for ordinary, day-to-day jobs.
“If you already earn well in Singapore, the exchange rate makes a localised Malaysian package unworkable – it simply does not add up,” the 46-year-old told CNA.
But for entrepreneurs as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), Malaysia is an “entirely different” proposition, he said.
Low added: “In Singapore, the multinationals dominate almost every corner of the market, and carving out room to breathe is genuinely hard. Malaysia offers a far larger canvas – space to sharpen real commercial skills and build something from the ground up.”
SINGAPOREANS IN MALAYSIA TALK PROS AND CONS
The appeal for business owners, Low said, is not just commercial, but “how you actually live while you build”.
“Malaysia’s cost of living remains a fraction of Singapore’s – housing, food, transport, staffing, office space – which means the same income stretches dramatically further, and a young business is not bleeding cash before it has found its feet,” he said.
“The pace is steadier and the lifestyle more varied – from Johor’s coastline and golf courses to the highlands, the food, and weekend drives that are simply not possible on a small island (like Singapore).”
Hafiz Ellahi, who moved to Malaysia with his family in 1996 and runs a family-owned jewelry business in Kuala Lumpur, said Singaporean professionals or digital nomads who can move to Malaysia and still earn in a stronger currency should “do it” as the “lifestyle upgrade is unbeatable”.
“If you are moving for a local job paying in ringgit, calculate very carefully. The drop in disposable income might not be worth the stress of adjusting to the infrastructure,” the 42-year-old told CNA.
Still, he encouraged Singaporeans who want to move to not “burn your Singapore bridges”.
“Keep your CPF (Central Provident Fund), keep a bank account there, and have a ‘return fund’. Treat Malaysia as a fantastic adventure, but know that the efficiency you’re used to is a luxury you’re trading for space and freedom,” he added.
Hafiz said he is already seeing a trend of Singaporean designers setting up production workshops in Malaysia because labour and metal costs are cheaper.
“In my opinion, Nga wasn’t being condescending at all. He was stating an economic gravity. Is it becoming a reality? Yes, but only in niches,” he added.
Andrew Yong, 35, moved to Kuala Lumpur in August 2024 to work in the agriculture industry as a research and development engineer after a varied career path in Singapore that included a stint as a public bus driver.
When he got “truly bored” in his last job, he started meddling in long-range wireless technology, which enables cheap, battery-operated devices to communicate over long distances (up to 300km) using minimal power consumption.
It was then that a few people working in the agriculture industry expressed interest in applying this technology to rural agricultural settings in Malaysia to address connectivity needs.
Yong told CNA he currently gets paid in ringgit, and warned that this meant the cost of living in Kuala Lumpur is higher than in Singapore.
While he said his current employers did not match his last drawn salary in Singapore of S$7,000 (US$5,400) a month, they tried to “meet me halfway” because of his financial commitments back home, including owning a Housing and Development Board flat.
“So, I would say I got a deal that worked for me as I started as a senior position salary-wise. Not everyone is going to be so lucky – you have to fight for this kind of deal,” he said.
For Yong, the lower spending power was not an issue as he said he lives a simple lifestyle, like dining at hawker stalls in low-cost housing neighbourhoods, buying cheap Malaysian-made cars and not having the “latest iPhone every year”.
“It comes down to finding a balance with your lifestyle needs and your commitments versus your passion,” he said.
Even so, Yong lamented Malaysia’s poorer racial integration and last-mile connectivity compared to Singapore, but welcomed how Malaysia’s rules felt much less restrictive and better for his mental health.
WHAT WOULD PULL MORE SINGAPOREANS TO MALAYSIA?
Singaraveloo from the Malaysia HR forum said the main factors that may encourage Singaporeans to work in Malaysia include lower living costs, regional career opportunities, improved work-life balance and the expansion of multinational companies.
“However, these opportunities are likely to be attractive only if employees can retain a Singapore-level or expatriate remuneration package. Otherwise, the financial proposition becomes much less compelling,” he said.
From a workforce mobility perspective, Vialto’s Neumann said Singaporeans are most likely to consider opportunities that offer a clear career advantage rather than simply a different work location.
“This could include leadership positions, regional management roles, or opportunities in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, technology, supply chain, healthcare, education and professional services, particularly where companies are expanding their operations across Southeast Asia,” he said.
Despite that, personal considerations such as daily commuting – even with improved infrastructure – can affect quality of life, Neumann said, while family commitments, schooling and long-term career aspirations often influence whether someone is willing to relocate.
“Ultimately, the growth of cross-border employment will depend not only on economic opportunities but also on employers’ ability to offer meaningful career development, competitive rewards and a seamless cross-border employment experience,” he added.
Source: CNA/hz(as)
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