The reality is that Spore is getting too expensive & crowded. It is also getting to be inconvenient with the haze, dengue,, flash floods,....
Maybe in the past some of the Chinese Malaysians would have stayed on in Spore but nowadays there are better places to work & live. If they decide to work overseas, you'll find them targetting the same countries that Sporeans are moving to e.g. Australia, Canada,....
There are also many decent places in Malaysia to retire e.g. Ipoh
My friends gave me those same reasons.
- 1 HDB flat in singapore = 1 bungalow in bolehland + car
- low costs of living
- very good exchange rate
But in the end, they retired in Singapore instead. The exchange rate is favourable to us because Malaysia is so badly run. Nothing in this world is free, including a very favourable exchange rate. My friends in the end, explained why they retired in Singapore instead, despite their hatred for PAP and the higher costs of living.
1) discrimination against non-Muslims and non-Malays in an increasingly intolerant Islamic-majority society
2) security and safety, which again, is sometimes linked to the first point
3) the rest of the family refuse to relocate to Malaysia because the future of Malaysia is increasingly bleak for non-Muslims and also for the Muslims. Fewer job opportunities, difficult access to higher education of their choice simply because they are Chinese and non-Muslims. You have no idea how much Islamic Malaysia dislikes educating non-Muslims in fields like engineering and medicine. People want to retire and be surrounded by family, not retire alone.
They concluded that while Singapore is definitely expensive, it is a premium to pay for security, freedom from systematic religious and race discrimination, meritocracy to pursue whatever field of study/career they wish.