MALAYSIANS working in Singapore will resume daily travel once the borders reopen on April 1.

They told The Malaysian Insight, in the last two years, they had no choice but to stay in Singapore to make a living.

That decision, however, made them lose out on spending quality time with their friends and family, they said.

Jims See, a receptionist, said he has not been home since March 18, 2020, the day the borders were closed.

“The borders have been closed for too long. I’ve lost a lot of time with my family and watching my children grow up,” See said.

When the land borders between Malaysia and Singapore – Causeway and Second Link – reopen on April 1, See said he will resume his daily commute.

“Because I work in Singapore, I don’t have enough time to be with my family.

“To make time for both, I will start commuting. I will not renew the lease for the house in Singapore.

“But, I won’t return immediately on April 1, I want to avoid the crowds and the risk of infection.”

See said there are risks involved in commuting daily, but this is a step he needs to take to return to his daily routine, before the epidemic disrupted it.

Ho Sau Lian, another Malaysian who has worked in Singapore for 15 years in the medical device industry, said she was very excited to learn of the borders reopening.

“My phone kept ringing the day the announcement was made because my friends and colleagues could not believe it.”

As her company is still providing housing allowance, Ho said she has decided not to commute daily for the time being.

“I do plan to go home on the evening of April 1, stay for two days, before returning to Singapore. I want to see if everything goes smoothly at the checkpoint.

“In the beginning, there may be confusion. I will look at the situation first, if everything goes well, I will move back to Johor Baru.”

Before the epidemic, Ho and her son lived together. But in the past two years, her son moved in with his grandparents while she was stuck in Singapore.

“School started recently, so he has gone back to our home to learn to live alone as my parents are too old to care for him all the time,” Ho said, adding that her son is 16 years old.

“Once everything stabilises, I will go back to live in Johor Baru.”

In order to keep herself safe while commuting, Ho said she will continue wearing masks, observe social distancing and wash her hands frequently.

For Ng Say Khai, an air-conditioning maintenance worker, he had only made one trip home via the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) scheme.

In the last two years, he had missed out on watching his children grow up.

“When I left two years ago, my son was only a one-year-old and learning to crawl. Now he can walk.

“When I heard the borders were opening for good, I was very happy. It means I can go home to be with my family and spend time with them.”

Ng, too, said he will not rush back immediately, but instead will wait for a week to observe how things go.

“Usually on the first day, there will be some hiccups. So I have decided to wait a week.”

Meanwhile, Toh Yng Ni, who has been working in the island state for the past 17 years in a chip production company, said she will return on April 1, as she had obtained a ticket previously via the VTL.

“Due to my working hours, it may be hard to commute daily. I will continue to stay in Singapore and travel home during public holidays.”

Last week Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong issued a joint statement to announce the reopening of the land border between the two countries.

This will allow all travellers from both countries to move between both countries quarantine-free.

At the same time, international borders will also be opened on April 1. – March 30, 2022.