Malaysians working in Singapore in hopes of securing a better life is a rather common phenomenon.
What’s perhaps a little rare is Singaporeans choosing to live in Malaysia despite working here.
A man, whom the Internet suspects to be doing that, shared that he was unable to enter Johor Bahru (JB) on Wednesday (22 Mar).
A Malaysian immigration officer allegedly advised him to “wait for a period of time” before entering the country.
On Wednesday (22 Mar), a man from Singapore took to the JB Tracer Facebook group to share his recent ordeal.
In the post, which the man appears to have removed, he reportedly shared that he first tried to enter JB on Tuesday (21 Mar).
Source: Google Maps
To his surprise, the Malaysian customs officer wrote “next entry leave a gap” on his passport.
The man then took a picture of the page and posted it on Facebook.
Source: Oriental Daily
Judging from the page design, the passport looks like a standard Singaporean passport.
When the man tried entering JB the next day, he was stopped and denied entry, reported China Press.
In light of this, the man asked on Facebook if it was illegal to enter Malaysia every day.
Somehow, after analysing the turn of events, netizens arrived at the conclusion that the Singaporean man was working in Singapore and residing in JB.
According to Oriental Daily, users commented that with a Singapore salary, the man is easily in the top 20% of income earners in Malaysia.
China Press reported that there were also some netizens who criticised the man for being too smart for his own good,
He thought he would save on cost of living expenses by living in JB, but was outsmarted by the Singaporean government.
To this, the man apparently clarified that he isn’t married to a Malaysian.
He additionally claimed that he hasn’t been successful in applying for a long-term pass in Malaysia.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) website states that Singaporeans don’t need a visa to enter Malaysia for up to 30 days.
Should they wish to enter for employment purposes, they would need approval from Malaysian immigration authorities.
Meanwhile, the Immigration Department of Malaysia notes that foreigners can stay in the country for up to five years under the Long Term Social Visit pass.
However, the individual must first have a Malaysian spouse.
As the man’s post is no longer available, we can’t infer what his exact situation was that could have let to the temporary ban.
Nevertheless, we hope that things eventually worked out for him.
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Featured image adapted from Oriental Daily and Google Maps.
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