You're right it's obvious, but you wouldn't think so judging by the number of people who have to ask whether S$2.5K is better then RM3.5K.

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Added on October 23, 2009, 11:36 pmThe difference is distance. Singapore is overseas... but it isn't exactly 'overseas'. The best thing about working in Singapore is that you're going next door but next door is the 5th highest paying city in Asia after Tokyo, Seoul, HK and Taipei.


This post has been edited by seantang: Oct 23 2009, 11:36 PM

And there's nothing wrong with telling you off for not using the PM button. Your argument is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. That's like a smoker telling a non-smoker "if you don't like the smoke, just don't breathe it".

And using you (il)logic... if you didn't like what I wrote, why did you read it?

The employment passes (EP-P1/P2/Q1, S-Pass and WP) have different privileges in term of support for your family members. EP-P1 holders have a much easier time getting DPs (Dependent's Pass) for their immediate family and LTVPs (Long Term Visit Pass) for their other family members. EP-P2 generally have the same dependent's privileges but may be restricted in the number of DPs and LTVPs they can obtain as they could be earning only 1/2 of what EP-P1s earn. EP-P1 holders are also invited to be citizens much earlier, singles are encouraged to join the govt's matchmaking services etc. If you hold an EP-P1, single, under 40 and have one of MOM's strategic skills, you are practically guaranteed a PR if you apply (or so I'm told).

EP-Q1 holders can apply for DPs but not LTVPs.

S-Pass holders earning >2500 can apply for DPs. But their kids face some restrictions if they need to go to govt schools.

S-Pass holders earning <2500 and all WP holders do not qualify for DPs.

So, I reckon, the passes given to each applicant is not fixed. As the folks here indicated, the salary & qualifications criteria are minimum eligibility requirements but it doesn't mean that if you are eligible, you are automatically entitled to that pass. There's also a Strategic Skills List which might fast track or get you a higher pass than you are eligible for. Your company can also provide additional supporting comments in your application (eg. regarding their plans for your career etc). Obviously an application from a MNC or large corporation for an EP-P1 pass (minimum salary S$7K) will carry much more weight than an application from a small local company whose MD himself is not get much more than that.

The govt might still give you a lower pass if they do not want to encourage you to bring your family to Singapore, and/or if they do not see you as someone they want to keep in Singapore long term.

This post has been edited by seantang: Oct 25 2009, 06:04 PM

You are probably not on the Strategic Skills List and don't have other characteristics to warrant an exception to the 2.5K salary minimum.

This post has been edited by seantang: Oct 25 2009, 06:06 PM

An OPC car is only provides a S$17000 discount off the normal price of a car in Singapore. What car can you buy in Singapore with a 17K discount and end up significantly cheaper than if you buy in Malaysia?

And if you have no Singaporean residential address and PR/EP/SP/WP, how do you renew the COE and insurance?

Why can't people who hold Singapore licences drive Malaysian cars? They can rent and drive Malaysian cars using a Singapore licence.

For certain cars that are not sold by official dealers in Malaysia ie. through parallel importers like NAZA, maybe.

A residential address means (1) you have to be a resident of Singapore ie. you have resident status like PR, EP/SP/WP or a long term pass, and (2) it is an address where you currently reside at. Firstly, you lose your EP/SP/WP if you no longer work in Singapore. Secondly, your REP will expire after 5 years if you do not reside AND work in Singapore anymore. If you're outside Singapore when your REP expires, you lose your PR. It's not as simple as using any address of a flat or a house.

My last comment was not a query. Car rental companies can rent cars to anybody with a driving licence recognised by the Malaysian govt. Therefore, what your friend told you about a Singaporean licence holder can only drive a Singapore car in Malaysia is obviously untrue.

People allowed to drive in Malaysia (ie. driving licence validity) and cars allowed to be driven in Malaysia (ie. car registration) are 2 totally separate matters. Unlike Singapore, Malaysia does not link driver licensing with car registration. If you can drive in Malaysia, and if that car can be driven in Malaysia, then you can drive that car in Malaysia.

This post has been edited by seantang: Oct 25 2009, 10:05 PM

VW Scirocco 1.4 TSi... let's group buy

It's only a few thousand more than the WRX leh... but it's much a nicer drive with better torque at low revs and the 7 speed DSG gearbox. And looks helluva lot better.

COE can be renewed once. Either 5 or 10 years.

No lah. Singapore's govt services and most information is ALL online. I'm just very good at Googling and surfing .gov.sg websites.

How did you form your "expectations" when you're "not sure"?

Wage parity between Singapore and Malaysia is typically not S$1:RM1. It's more like S$0.8-0.9:RM1. And it's different for individual industries.

Secondly, that's merely a rule of thumb. If you want to negotiate with an employer, you need to know the supply:demand balance for your industry in Singapore. If there are very few people who do what you do in Malaysia, but lots of them in Singapore - then naturally the market wage will gravitate downwards... and vice versa. Conversely, if there a lot of employers for what you do in Malaysia, but very few in Singapore, you will again see Singaporean wages compare negatively against Malaysia.

At the end of the day, what I asked is no different from what an employer will ask if you try to negotiate the salary. If you only have your Malaysian salary as a reference point, then your bargaining power will be very weak.

This post has been edited by seantang: Oct 26 2009, 01:04 PM

It never hurts to do research and know your numbers before stepping into a negotiation.

You never know... if you have a niche skill, paying you the same S$ salary as you currently earn in Malaysia might still be lower versus the going market wage. When I moved to Sg, my S$ was S$1.15:RM1 versus my Malaysian salary.

Btw, recruiters are never authorised to formally offer someone the job. The offer needs to come from the hiring company itself. Until they hand the employment pass over to you, the terms are not final because the offer and/or employment contract is conditional upon your eligibility to work in Singapore.

You have to do the cash flow math...

Option A, buying your own place: (Value of home after 20 years) MINUS (purchase cost + loan interest + taxes & levies over 20 years).
Option B, renting: Rental for 20 years.
Option C, wait and buy: (Value of home after 15 years) MINUS (purchase cost + loan interest + taxes & levies over 15 years) MINUS (rental for 5 years).

Buying immediately is typically very expensive if you don't have a cheap loan (ie. you buy resale HDB as a PR or private condo and you don't get a HDB loan). The interest amount after 20 years can be more than the purchase price itself.

Renting is cheapest, but you end up with no asset.

Wait & buy is the best but also hardest to time correctly. The objective here is to save up the maximum downpayment while waiting for a dip in property prices - so that you minimise the length of the loan, and therefore the interest amount.

At the end of the day, do your sums.

For me, I rent a place for S$1200 a month. If I buy a condo with a S$500,000 loan @3%p.a, the monthly interest alone is already more than that. @5% it's more than double my rental. If the interest rates keep going up, the interest payments will go up as well. In this case, it makes more sense for me to pay the rental, and save up the amount that would have otherwise gone to principal repayment - so that I can put a larger lump sum down later on. Of course, I lose on the capital appreciation opportunities while I wait, but in the current environment where property prices are bubbling... I think there's more probability that the wait will give you opportunities to pick something up when the price dips later on.

You want to live with strangers for 20 years?

If you're unable to service the loan... you still won't own anything anyway.

Anyway, do the math. Numbers don't lie. Problems with unrealistic assumptions (eg. always have tenants, interest rates never go up etc) will show up like a sore thumb.

Me... I like Singapore, but I probably won't buy a place here. I can pay rent here, save the surplus and after some years buy a house in KL with cash. Don't think I'll be in Singapore for 20 years.

It was a rhetorical statement. There was a very big "IF" right from the first sentence. IF Malaysia will treat its non-Malays equally. I don't think I will see reunification in my lifetime.

Singapore is actually not growing organically anymore. If they stop immigration today, Singapore's population will actually shrink gradually.

In any case, all you have to do is take a train ride to the far ends of the MRT lines. There is a lot of empty land on the fringes of Singapore. Even in a place like AMK, there's are big plots of unused land... for eg. the big jungle-like plot next to Nanyang Poly on Ave 5. And they are constantly reclaiming the sea. And Singapore is still some way off the density of HK's Kowloon. The condos and flats in Singapore are nowhere as high as the ones in HK. And there's a lot of airspace on top of commercial buildings which they can build residential buildings on top of.

As for water... I personally believe water is Singapore's trump card.

Malaysia cannot switch off the water to Singapore, despite all the grumbles from the politicians. If we do, it's technically an act of war and Singapore can (and will) take military action against Malaysia without fear of international reprisal. Invade using proven Israeli strategies where a small force holds of a much larger, but less capable force (their military mirrors that of Israel) and use Malaysia's action as an excuse to hold on to Johor for 20-30-40 years. For self preservation purposes of course. In the meantime, give Chinese and Indian Malaysians free passage into Johor and settle down there as Singaporean PRs. After a while, possession is 9/10s of the law. And there you have it... Singapura Raya Then can also offer Sabah and Sarawak to join Singapura Raya... And I'm not so sure if the East Malaysians will refuse. Some versions of history say that Sabah and Sarawak agreed to join Malaysia only because of Singapore. They may like a chance to reconsider their decision.

Aaaanyway... Singapore is already almost self sufficient for potable or drinkable water. It's water for industrial and commercial use which Singapore depends on Malaysia... but water treatment and desalination technology is improving rapidly.

No, I don't see the difference.

You said 'if you don't like it, don't read it'. Which is a ridiculous thing to say because if you don't read it, how do you know if you don't like it?

If you post something on a public forum, it's for everyone to read. And being a public forum, if people don't like what you wrote, they can tell you off if they want to.

I used a quote box to highlight to the thread something I thought should be better written over PM. It was NOT a personal message to you, because unlike you, I would have used a PM for that.

Blunt, yes. No doubt. But rude?

Hard to say...

Right now, there's a lot of money in properties because the high yield financial instruments are either gone or giving much lower yields. And the threat of inflation have people looking for safe havens to park their money. That's why the number of sales transactions went sky high recently, but the number of new bank loans did not. People are using cash to buy properties, not all of them are local. It's debatable whether these people are 'investing' or 'parking' their money. In any case, if they find an alternative investment later on when the economy improves, they might 'dump' properties like they dumped their shares and move the funds back to their home countries or higher yield assets.

Secondly, there will be a lot, and I mean a lot of new flats and condos completing construction and getting TOP next year and 2011. All those enbloc redevelopments, all those projects launched at the peak of 2007/2008 will be coming on stream. The buyers signed a S&P for much more than the current market price. The kicker is that many of them bought using those interest free programs and haven't even started repaying the loans. If you were one of these people, will you take delivery of the condo and service a huge loan for a flat worth only 50-70% of the loan? Or will you sacrifice the 5% or 10% downpayment that you paid during booking and just walk away?

So... yes, I think Singapore's property market will appreciate long term. It's inevitable given the island's size. But now may not be the best time to jump on the bandwagon.

Wow... this stuff is like the plot from a Japanese AV movie... from a lot of Japanese AV movies actually.

She better learn to say "yamete... yamete...".

But jokes aside... she can either lock her room and sun her undies in her room instead of the common area... or complain to the landlord... but that's 50/50 at best. So be prepared to move out if the landlord doesn't take too kindly to being called the father/mother of a budding pervert.

Oh... if she uses a common bathroom, check the door, sills, window, smoke detector, whatever... or else she might just find herself on gutteruncensored.