Singapore soothes food and labour supply fears as Malaysia border closure looms

Singapore imports some 90 per cent of its food from global sources, including eggs, sugar and milk from Malaysia, but officials say the island has a sufficient contingency stockpile

Malaysia’s border closure will affect the 415,000 people who use two land checkpoints for work and school, and to ferry supplies into the city state

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People shop for groceries in Singapore on February 23, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:01pm, 17 Mar 2020Updated: 12:35am, 19 Mar 2020

Singapore authorities on Tuesday assured its 5.7 million residents that it had “months” of stockpiled fresh and packaged food, and would help businesses cope with disruptions, as Malaysian authorities confirmed there would be no exceptions to its border closure to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Malaysia had assured him that the two-way flow of goods and cargo, including food supplies, would not be affected but workers living in the southermost state of Johor would have to comply with the sweeping restrictions on the movement of Malaysians that will kick in on Wednesday and last till the end of the month.

The decision will put a further dent in Singapore’s trade-dependent economy that has 3.7 million workers and is already taking a hit from the pandemic.

Malaysia and Singapore, which split after a brief union in the 1960s, have close economic ties and share a border. Every day, about 415,000 people use two land checkpoints for work and school and to ferry supplies into the city state.

Chua Hak Bin, a senior economist at Maybank in Singapore, said banning daily commuters“cut off almost one-tenth of Singapore’s force, hurting both the manufacturing and services industries”, according to Bloomberg.

But with Malaysia’s coronavirus cases rising to 553 on Monday to be the highest in Southeast Asia, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced measures including an overseas travel ban for residents, a 14-day self-quarantine order for returning residents, restrictions on public gatherings and the closure of most businesses except those selling food and everyday necessities.