Malaysian workers in Singapore claim sharing homes with opposite sex, sleep at MRT station

A Johor couple who work for a Singapore-based finance company have expressed disappointment for having to put up with colleagues of the opposite sex in a house provided by their employer.

Joseph (not his real name), who is accompanied by his wife and their 8-year-old son, admitted it was miserable for them as a result of the implementation of the Movement Control Order by the Malaysian government from March 18 to 31 that prohibits them from commuting daily.

Subsequently, they decided to move out and sought to put up at a friend’s house for the time being.

"It's true that my employer has provided a house but having to put up with colleagues of the opposite sex, my wife felt uncomfortable.

"So that's why I made the decision for us to move out as I and my wife had to bring our child to work," he said when contacted by Astro AWANI here on Thursday.

He said, they could not afford to rent a house in Singapore, which forced them to seek out their employer for a place to stay.

However, the couple had not expected what was in store for them and decided to leave the house provided by their employer.

"Our employer can't say anything. So, my wife and I are now putting up at a friend's house as everyone knows the rent here is too expensive. Even for a small room, you would have to pay in the hundreds,” he added.

Joseph claimed there were employers who would place their employees from Johor in a vacant warehouse for temporary accommodation.

More unfortunate, he claimed, some of his friends were provided a stuffy storage room.

However, some have better luck.

Ameline, who works for a cleaning company in Singapore, said her employer provided hotel accommodation and transport fare as she had to commute to work.

She, however, claimed that several of her friends were unlucky because some of them had to spend the night at the Keranji MRT Station.

"My company is providing hotel accommodation for these two weeks besides giving transport fare due to the distance to my workplace.

"But there are some of our people who have to spend the night at a MRT station because they may work for a small company which cannot afford to provide a better place to stay," Ameline said.

Apparently, for some Malaysian workers in Singapore, they have no choice but to work as they feared losing their work permits if they were absent for a long period.