Leaving Kuala Lumpur for Singapore

[soihok]

Notes of a British guy married to a Thai lady.

After (almost) 2 years of working in Kuala Lumpur, my family and I are returning to Singapore after I have secured employment there. We have previously lived in Singapore for 11 years.

Can't say I'm sad to leave KL, after attending a second interview in Singapore recently it really felt like a breath of fresh air returning there. Really quite happy about it actually.

No hassle sorting things out in Singapore (service provider and authority wise), nothing like the traffic problems in KL where it can sometimes take me up to an hour to drive home a few kilometres from the job.

Never feel like you need to look over your shoulder and take precautions against snatch theft, like I find myself doing in KL when out with my wife and daughter.

Police corruption - LAW is only a three letter word in KL, as a foreigner (and dare I say non Muslim), you are towards the bottom of the food chain so to speak.

Last year my wife, was in the city alone and was stopped by Police asking for her passport, which she didn't have on her. What she did have was a valid Malaysian identity card confirming her status and legality in the country. No, this wasn't acceptable, they wanted to see the passport. So they handcuffed her and put her in a police car, then once inside demanded 400 Ringgit. She had no option other than to comply. Disgusting.

I have met some great Malaysians as well as some real dross (some of those who I have had working for me). I think the country is in decline, employers being held to ransom by employees who see it fit not to turn up to work and cite religious duties to be able disappear at will to the coffee shop or shopping mall. A word of warning, once a Malaysian has been employed and found to be undesirable for whatever reason, it is extremely difficult to remove them as the authorities will lean more towards the employee.

Personnel income tax here is 26% once you go over 100,000 Ringgit a year on your earnings (about a million baht) which doesn't take long, Singapore is not quite half, but not far off if one has a family (the allowances for income tax relief are far higher and the tax system is tiered).

Will be happy to know that I have a greater chance of my daughter getting to and from school in safety.

Positive things about life in KL things I will miss, opposed to life in Singapore?

Less aggressive drivers.

Cheap water bills.

Company car.

.......that is about it.......everything else sways towards life in Singapore being a better option.

Everyone's situation is different and some consider some things to have more importance over others. Just my experience.

Cheers

Edited June 28, 2014 by soihok

[oldthaihand99]

The other day i read some similar things in a thread comparing the two cities:

"The best description of KL came from a local I met on my last trip. He explained that KL is like the dirty, chaotic, lazy cousin of Singapore."

-----

"I spend quite a bit of time in Hong Kong which is one of the World's great cities but can be very hectic. Singapore is a great contrast to Hong Kong and other bustling Asian cities, and a welcome relief.

"I only brought up the corruption comment as I am currently in KL and Yahoo Malaysia has heavily featured the Asia-Pacific Fraud Survey Report Series 2013 which has just been released by Ernst and Young which ranked Malaysia as among the most corrupt nations in Asia. The report said Malaysia, along with China, had the highest levels of bribery and corruption found anywhere in the world.

http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowTopic-g298570-i7008-k6853587-Singapore_vs_kl-Kuala_Lumpur_Wilayah_Persekutuan.html

Edited June 29, 2014 by oldthaihand99

[stuurman]

Have a good time in Singapore! Agree on your comment Malaysia is in decline. I'm living in Penang and have lived in Singapore as well, still often come there. Although Penang isn't as worse as KL in terms of (police) corruption and crime the country as a whole starts to appall me, especially the way non-Muslims are treated compared to Muslims. There is definitely a two tier system in terms of human rights and justice.

Next stop will be Thailand, Chiang Mai.

[soihok]

Thanks.

Sad to see what has the potential to be a really great place, descend into a place that should be avoided.

(An example of the 2 tier is that of low cost housing projects, basically large government created and owned housing estates available at a fraction of the cost of private apartments and landed - legal - properties. These housing projects are only available to Muslims, or shall we say Bhumi Putra, the Chinese and Indian ethnic population are prohibited).

Most slum dwellers are either of Chinese or Indian ethnic.

Sad but,

Never mind.

Edited July 3, 2014 by soihok

[steelepulse]

Is Malaysia really Muslim vs non Muslim, or is it Malay vs non Malay? How are Indian and Chinese Muslim treated compared to Malay Muslims? I always thought it was the Bumiputras vs non Bumis?

[soihok]

Yes, Bhumi v non Bhumi.

Chinese Muslims, not many, mainly those that have converted from what I have come across.

More Indian Muslims, but still at a disadvantage. Not in the same league as ethnic Malay.

Its a really sad case and I am happy to be leaving.

[stuurman]

Officially It's Bumi vs non-Bumi but according to the current government Bumi = Malay = Muslim = UMMO.

On top of that it has become clear that the decisions made by the Sharia court go above the high court, not according to the constitution but in practice it happens because if the two contradict high court resolutions are not enforced.

Also several cabinet ministers have expressed that Malaysia is an Islamic state and Non-Muslims have to deal with that, again this is not written in the constitution but they don't seem to care about such formalities.

Edited July 3, 2014 by stuurman

[soihok]

Its a really sad case.

[MrWorldwide]

Thanks for this soihok. although I do recall that you had some real concerns about the cost of living in Singapore. On balance, its not hard to see why you are leaving KL - I've always found the city pretty chaotic and anything more than a couple of days is draining. All the best in Singapore.

[soihok]

Cheers Mr WW.

Your new avatar is certainly more appealing than the old one.

Having lived in Sing for many years I wouldn't consider going back there unless I was returning to a good salary.

Now I have signed a new contract for a new employer I can expect to be saving very well.

[MrWorldwide]

Half of me says 'Lucky bugger' and the other half says 'the Chinese like their pound of flesh'

Look forward to hearing your thoughts on the city once you get settled in.

[soihok]

As I said before, I lived there for 11 years before coming to Malaysia, about 2 years ago. So I know what to expect and how the place works.

My employer is Japanese, they will also be expecting their 'pound of flesh'.