The Malaysian Insight

IT is a short distance across the Causeway, yet home and their loved ones have never seemed further for Malaysians with permanent residency (PR) in Singapore.

This category of Malaysias are feeling the pain of separation caused by border controls due to the Covid-19 pandemic that only allows selected travellers to cross the border under the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and the Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA).

They have mulled visiting loved ones back on Malaysian soil, but the time needed to fulfil mandatory quarantine complicates arrangements as well as work commitments.

Wendy Chan, 43, told The Malaysian Insight that being unable to pay her last respects to her father who died three weeks ago is now the biggest regret of her life.

The Singapore PR holder would have had to undergo quarantine for 14 days upon entering Malaysia, and she would miss her father’s funeral.

The seven day-quarantine requirement upon returning to Singapore would mean a total of 21 days spent in quarantine, time away from work that she cannot afford.

Chan, who is in the medical line and has worked 10 years in Singapore, had until recently been commuting to Singapore from Johor Baru daily.

Due to health reasons, she and her husband moved to live in the republic last year, leaving their 10 year-old daughter behind with a nanny.

“We would visit our daughter once a week. But it has been seven months since we last saw her in person. She cries often because she misses her parents. Even her teacher at school has urged us to visit her.

“We call her every night. And after I put down the phone, I immediately start crying,” she said.

It has reached the point that Chan is thinking of quitting work in Singapore and returning to Malaysia.

“I have been comforting my daughter that I will be back soon. So if the situation does not change, I will resign in January 2021 and stay at home with my daughter.

“Quitting my job will certainly affect our family finances, but when I think about it, it is better to be with my child. I’ll have to cut back on expenses instead,” said Chan.

Thirty-one year-old Michelle Ng lives with her three children aged eight, four and three, in Johor Baru, while her husband works in Singapore.

The family has been separated since March when the movement-control order (MCO) was imposed in Malaysia.

“My husband is a project manager in Singapore. He has worked for more than 10 years and holds a PR.

“As a PR holder, he does not qualify for the PCA travel scheme. He will have to quarantine for 14 days upon entering Malaysia,” she said.

He recently applied for unpaid leave and returned to Malaysia, completing the quarantine, in order to see the family as the children had grown inconsolable.

“The children were always crying and asking why their father is always working, and why isn’t he coming back. It was very exhausting for me to look after them alone as well,” said Ng.

With the family reunited for now, Ng said her husband will review his plans for work after the recovery MCO which is currently in place throughout the country until December 31 except for areas under conditional and enhanced MCO.

“We hope that the government will include PR holders in the PCA travel scheme,” she added.

Stulang assemblyman Andrew Chen said he has witnessed many family reunions of those unable to bear the separation or whose family situations made issues like outsourced childcare unsustainable.

He said one of the more memorable stories for him was that of a one year-old boy who burst into tears when his own parents took him back from his relatives. The child did not recognise his parents and thought they were strangers.

“The parents were very sad and took a long time to comfort their baby.

“In another case, the grandparents in a family could no longer care for the grandchildren and sent the children back to their parents in Singapore.

“The scene at the border where the grandparents waved goodbye to their grandchildren was heart-wrenching. The children were calling out to their grandparents and the grandparents were shouting the children’s names.

“It was like separation scenes in movies about North and South Korea, but I never expected this to happen between Malaysia and Singapore,” he said.

Agreeing with Malaysian holders of Singapore PR, Chen said this category of persons should be allowed to move across the border under the PCA, which currently is only for work pass holders.

The RGL meanwhile, is for short-term travel for up to 14 days for official and essential business purposes only.

“The current policy on the PCA excludes PR holders, and it is not fair to them,” he said. – November 4, 2020.