Singapore’s post-COVID-19 bull run has brought more than its fair share of grousing.
The city-state basks in its status as Asia’s destination of choice, a beneficiary of disillusion with magnets such as Hong Kong. That’s come with a big caveat: High costs that push workers to consider packing for the suburbs — of another country. Happily for Singapore, one very proximate would-be competitor needs to work a lot harder to be a serious rival.
Johor, the southern state of peninsular Malaysia, is often depicted as an arm of the island’s economy. Singapore was briefly part of Malaysia before becoming a republic in 1965. People flow across the border each day by the hundreds of thousands. Cars, trucks and motorcycles line up at rush hour. Food, goods, water and power cross the Johor Strait, which is less than half a mile at its narrowest point. With the cost of putting a roof over your head becoming prohibitive for some in Singapore, Johor is getting a fresh look. It’s not only right next door, it’s cheap. Enhancing the attraction is the decline of the Malaysian ringgit, which has skidded against the Singapore dollar.