Strong Sing$ attractive: Report

Wed, 06 Sep 2000 | Source: AFP

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A strong Singapore currency and high salaries are attracting some 200,000 Malaysians to cross the border daily to work in the city-state, a report said Tuesday.

Yoong Jih Ping, president of the Consumers Association of Johor, told The Sun newspaper the monetary benefits outweighed the "daily hassle of traveling."

The plus factor, he added, was that the workers were bringing revenue into Malaysia as they still live in Johor, the southernmost state bordering Singapore.

The Malaysian ringgit is currently valued at around 2.40 to the Singapore dollar compared to about 1.70 before the regional financial crisis struck in mid-1997.

International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz has urged the Johor state government to check the labor drain, saying it is forcing Malaysia to bring in workers from abroad.

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