Some M'sians sleep near S'pore MRT with no place to stay
CORONAVIRUS | Some Malaysian workers have no choice but to sleep near a Singapore MRT station as they have no place to stay.
Thousands of Malaysians had endured long queues and traffic jams to make their way to Singapore before midnight of March 18 after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced a movement control order until the end of the month in a bid to control the spread of Covid-19.
Malaysians cannot get out of the country while foreigners cannot enter.
Armel Sharil was among 20 Malaysian workers who had spent the night near the Kranji MRT Station, Singapore’s TODAY Online reported.
Armel had waited until the gates of the MRT station were shut before he laid cardboard on the floor to sleep...
CORONAVIRUS | Some Malaysian workers have no choice but to sleep near a Singapore MRT station as they have no place to stay.
Thousands of Malaysians had endured long queues and traffic jams to make their way to Singapore before midnight of March 18 after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced a movement control order until the end of the month in a bid to control the spread of Covid-19.
Malaysians cannot get out of the country while foreigners cannot enter.
Armel Sharil was among 20 Malaysian workers who had spent the night near the Kranji MRT Station, Singapore’s TODAY Online reported.
Armel had waited until the gates of the MRT station were shut before he laid cardboard on the floor to sleep.
The 31-year-old warehouse storekeeper said his employer was still finding accommodation for him.
The father of two only had his wallet, a phone with no internet access, a portable charger, a small tub of hair wax and mouthwash with him as he did not have time to pack his belongings before the lockdown.
A check by TODAY on Wednesday with 20 hostels and budget hotels found that most were fully booked until the end of the month, after getting calls from Malaysian workers or their Singapore employers seeking temporary accommodation.
But unfortunately for the workers sleeping near Kranji MRT Station, their employers had not promised them accommodation, they told the news portal.
Most of them work in the cleaning and manufacturing industries, and said that they had no choice but to sleep outdoors.
A worker who identified herself as just Chandra, 49, said: “We have no choice but to sleep here until we find ourselves a place to stay. The other MRT stations don't feel as safe as the Kranji one.”
The mother-of-four, who works as a cleaner, had to shower in the morning at her workplace - an office located in Pioneer near Tuas.
Such inconveniences are not a big issue for them, as they are thankful to still have their jobs, they said.
But this was not the case for 25-year-old Mohana Ambigai Dewi.
The school cleaner was terminated on Wednesday when she failed to turn up for work at noon on Tuesday.
“The jam at the Causeway was too long. My phone battery died so I could not call my boss to tell him that I could not go to work.
“When I turned up this morning (on Wednesday) to explain my situation, he just told me that the company has cancelled my work permit,” she said, visibly angered.
Listening to Mohana, Armel pointed out that she was not the only one who got laid off, adding that he heard of many others who lost their job despite braving the jam at the Causeway checkpoints. However, he refused to elaborate.
Armel said he wants to continue working in Singapore even if the movement control order gets extended as he has to feed his family back home.
“I’m so tired but I can’t sleep because I really miss them.”
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