Come back to vote, DAP tells M’sians in Singapore

JOHOR BARU: DAP has urged the thousands of Malaysians working in Singapore to take time off and go back to their hometowns on polling day.

Its state publicity secretary Wong Shu Qi said unofficial statistics showed that some 300,000 Malaysians commute daily from Johor to the island republic to work.

She said on top of that, approximately 400,000 Malaysians work and live there.

“Most of them do not have highpaying jobs but work there because of the favourable exchange rate,” she told reporters at the launch of Johor DAP’s election hotline.

The Senai assemblyman said the 700,000 Malaysians working in Singapore could make a difference in the political landscape back home if they cast their votes in the coming general election.

“We (political parties) cannot ignore the importance of their votes as they could be the key factor in determining victory,” she said.

Wong added that the Malaysians working across the Causeway did not just come from Johor, but from all over the country.

She said they were important as most Johorean voters working in Singapore were from towns such as Batu Pahat and Kluang and semiurban areas such as Bekok, Tangkak, Paloh, Pekan Nanas and Jementah.

“It is up to our workers there to decide whether to take leave if polling falls on a working day,” said Wong.