TICKET shortages have forced Singapore-based Malaysians to rethink their plans to go home for the Chinese New Year.

Those who have managed to get tickets complain they are having difficulty buying return tickets back to the city-state.

Some said they would not be travelling to protect their families following a surge in Covid-19 infections in Singapore.

Speaking to The Malaysian Insight, beautician Veron Yung said she has grabbed a bus ticket to go home. She will travel on the first day of the Chinese New Year on February 1.

“It’s very difficult to get tickets and I had to work at it for a whole week. I had originally planned to go home earlier, but the dates were all sold out, so I had to postpone it one day and only go home on the first day of the New Year,” said Yung, whose hometown is in Johor.

“However, I can’t buy a ticket for the return trip, because on the website, the dates are incorrectly displayed or there is no ticket or the payment cannot be completed.”

“Although the process is very painful, as long as I can go home for the Chinese New Year, it’s all worth it. It’s just that I can’t buy a return ticket and I’m worried that my job will be affected.”

She said she would have to wait until a new batch of tickets goes on sale in March.

“I hope the authorities can pay attention to this issue, which is, people who have bought a departure ticket be given priority to buy a return ticket? This way, we can reduce a lot of worry.”

Panda Jeff, who works in catering, has elected not to return to his hometown in Johor for Chinese New Year.

He said that it has been nearly three years since he returned to Malaysia for the Chinese New Year and he has almost forgotten what it is like to go home.

“Before the pandemic, I didn’t travel back and forth every day because I was worried about traffic jams and crowds, so I chose to live in Singapore, but at least I went back to my hometown every week.”

He said it is difficult to get leave to go home during the holidays and he is worried about the safety of his family.

“When I’m in Singapore alone, I don’t go out to celebrate the Lunar New Year. But before going to work, I will always call my family and send messages to wish them well.”

Machine programmer Vincent Chin said that due to a resurgence of the coronavirusin Singapore, he decided at the last minute not to return to his hometown to visit his parents this year.

“I really do want to go back. My son and I have not been home to see my parents for two years. But I was afraid of going back (and bringing the virus home) so I’m not going back. 

“It’s a disappointment to my family but safety and health are most important.”

In response to the emergence of the Omicron variant, Malaysia-Singapore Vaccination Travel Lane (VTL) tickets were suspended in December and re-sold on January 21.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the decision to resell VTL air tickets and bus tickets was based on the current risk assessment of the new wave of infections in the two countries.

The countries decided to cut the number of bus and flight tickets by half to reduce the likelihood of Covid-19 infections. – January 31, 2022.