Home for the Holidays

I got back Singapore late yesterday afternoon. We started our journey from my sis' home in Subang about after 10.15am just after breakfast. The drive was smooth except that when we reached somewhere in northern Johore, it started to pour. We were stuck at the 'rest' area for about 30mins waiting for the rain to stop. Our car was parked way down below across the road. This rest area had steps going up to the food centre and some provision and i didn't want my girls to get wet.

When the rain stopped we quickly got down to the car and get some petrol since we were about 200km away from JB. That should be safe to get our petrol fill. I had several emails from my pals in Sg that Sg registered cars were not allowed to fill up petrol if within the 50km radius. So we filled up to play safe. We reached Sg about 3.30pm and went to a nearby coffeeshop for a late lunch and early dinner. Figured we'll have lots of unpack once we reach home.

It was only after reaching back and reading the papers that this exercise was not yet executed. I hope they will opt to allow Malaysians who work in Sg to pump petrol since there are many who work in Johore and shuttle daily to work, to keep costs down. If they have to pay Sg prices, I bet many of the Malaysian workers may not be able to sustain the high petrol costs. They affect more of the Malaysian citizens than the Singaporean shoppers/consumers. I hope Malaysians will not be deprived of any more benefits.

Businesses in Johore may also suffer since many Singaporeans like shopping, eating and fill up their tanks before leaving. This help to boost up the economy there. Other than cheaper shopping and eating, many Singaporeans find Johore not much of an attraction compared with the other states like Penang, Selangor and Pahang.

Some of my Singaporeans friends who shop regularly in Johore have decided to give it a miss and go over to Bintan for Seafood instead. I certainly hope it will not be because of the petrol conditions. Singaporeans make one of the largest pool of tourism money pumping into Johore state economy, creating jobs and opportunities and profitable businesses for the locals.