Currently making about $5.5K sgd doing telesales in SG and am a top performer here, however I was recently offered to be a team lead to build, train & manage a new team of salespeople back home in KL, salary offered is rm9k.

Would take it in a heartbeat if salary was matched but my company was not able to offer that.. any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

stay in SG... don't make the mistake of moving back here unless you are pretty much set to "retire" here already. Work as long as you can overseas to maximize your savings and "seniority".

Once back, for most people, career prospect is down the drain, and income you already know is sub sub par.

stay there and mine as much as possible~

if given the opportunity to work in SG.. SGD5K (5 x 3.2 = RM16K).. is much more than RM9K in KL. Go for it..

Siao ah, want to balik Malaysia for peanuts salary and pay higher taxes / costs of living? Why not search for better paying jobs in SG instead if you're a top performer?

Did u experience trauma recently ? Ppl want get out Mal not go back ...... Only valid reason to go back if parent medical issue je

sgd, better opportunities

Stay in SG. TL for 8k back in KL (myself) can't make ends meet. Nett 6.5k ya

Here in SG cincai send back 2k+ SGD is already my nett what I made in KL. And that's not all, still got leftover.

Working in KL at this time where everything is crazy expensive? Are you really sure to live the life of zero savings?

This post has been edited by ceo684: Jul 12 2022, 04:28 PM

Singapore if you’re single.

Malaysia if you’re planning to start a family.

Dollar to dollar with kids in MY only increases the OPEX (on a MYR salary that is); it counters the more expensive price of school fees if you're PR
Purchasing power and education quality-wise still better with SG

This post has been edited by ceo684: Jul 12 2022, 04:31 PM

should be reversed. Singapore if you start family, singapore gov provide a lot more tax relief and financial support for those who starts family. unlike.msia who will like to keep those benefit low. if you have family the sg government house also will prioritize u first. Malaysia gov cakap sahaja, no action one. 2030 aging nation already still refuse to provide better benefit to those who want to start family.

This post has been edited by soules83: Jul 12 2022, 04:34 PM

You are correct, aging parents and only child. But even they told me to stay lol. Possibly better too as medical commitments can be costly.

Really appreciate all the replies. Might be thinking emotionally at times like these.

Unless the KL job can offer very good bonus/commission, else 9k is not interesting at all compare to 5.5k SGD...
U cant event get 10k net pay with 13k salary in Malaysia, not to mention the stupid MYR depreciation

This post has been edited by ragk: Jul 12 2022, 06:35 PM

glad you are thinking straight now. minus the accommodation, food and transportation are still very manageable.

This post has been edited by ahjummma: Jul 12 2022, 11:52 PM

You are looking for a ready-made answer. The ready-made answer does not exist.

Given the exchange rate, the cost of living and a whole bunch of intangibles, you have to decide.

One way is to use a spreadsheet and allocate points and weightings to each factor and come up with a winning option. That is purely on financial terms though.

SGD5.5k is quite high in SG already

Can't buy much imported goods
Heck even local produce is yahudi price in Msia

Inflation control is epic fail in MY.

Likely -1k for rental and transport
Then food 600 (20 per day cover 3 meals)
Misc few hundreds cover MY side bills?
Rest is savings

Seriously the purchasing power is awesome la..
$900 gets u very nice Thinkpad selection in preloved market
like T480 all maxed out with 32GB RAM, i7 8650, 1TB SSD
or X1C 6th gen

Its about AM salary range here for 5.5k
In few months easily collect money..
saving money in SG is very doable because food is so cheap here, assuming you don't blow it on ciggies or drinking.
Healthy lifestyle need not be expensive..

Excluding expensive eateries in malls (food court only $6.50 or so for wa tan hor)
but if wanna hv very filling high protein meal hawker food (with upsized meat) only $6.50-7.50 thereabouts, chicken rice, briyani mutton
or sliced fish noodles only $5

these are not the nonsense nasi tulang RM5 in PJ not even fit for prisoners

yea exactly if my offer gonna be good, def moving to spore for good 🤞🏻

This post has been edited by ahjummma: Jul 13 2022, 12:58 AM

Rm9k. It just goes further. I don't get why people say sgd5.5k is better spending power, when in Malaysia people buy car and rent whole unit and say it's not much leftover. Meanwhile in Singapore they rent a room and take public transport. It's simply not comparable when you are living different lifestyles.

Exactly, I don't understand why so many people are stuck in the 3x mindset.

For SGD 50, one can only get 15.33L of RON 95 in Singapore. For RM 50, we get 24.39L of RON 95 in Malaysia. And, interestingly, I have not seen RON 92 for decades. But, it is still available in Singapore.

I studied my degree in Singapore and returned to Malaysia long long time ago. Never regret.

This post has been edited by ongss: Jul 19 2022, 09:33 PM

Sounds like the sg job will give u far better $$.. better for ur long-term future. Hang in there op.

the position is higher but the salary is low?
better work in SG since you have great performance there...
even m'sia lifestyle is cheaper but not guarantee for future

AM in SG earn about 5k+SGD?

Ah interesting username although u are supporting TS to work in Malaysia. You just moved over to SG recently and found it not as green as u thought?

How much are u earning now?

Stay in singkie land

wait till gov remove the fuel subsidy, which is soon. 🤭🤭🤭 the current fuel subsidy is not sustainable in the long run as a country with increasing population and usage.

This post has been edited by ipohps3: Jul 22 2022, 10:59 PM

This is not all of it
Earned 8K in KL prior to coming over, can't even dispose|save this kind of money - eating out in KL just kaching kaching too much

I don't eat crappy portions or pick the cheapest item all the time at food court tbh, sometimes even upsize to become very awesome meal.

What kind of "lifestyle" are we talking about?
My personal time also valuable k.

Taking the LRT and staying in cheapo apartment (rumaweep). Car consider as "weekend car" in KL. Takes about 1hr20/way consistent. Driving to work is 45min-1hr30 good/bad days. Driving home also similar - leaving late does not guarantee smooth drive at all.
Taking the bus or MRT and staying in HDB near the office cutting down the commute time in SG to 30 mins or less door-to-door.
Both sides also treating the house like hotel, hardly stay at home one, always like to go out

Thing is I think I'm coming from homeowner who bought a place in KL perspective
so it doesn't make financial sense to rent yet another place if I already have a place in KL that's 1h20 away (LRT) from work.

This lifestyle of driving+car park gamble, takes 45 mins to reach but if I fail to secure a cheap parking RM10-13, then I need to spend time ronda all the other carparks again hoping people leave (another 30 min). Driving is faster but do remember I need to park the car. Its not a bus where I just get off tap out bye bye.



This post has been edited by ceo684: Jul 23 2022, 05:51 AM

I am sinkie. A new sinkie.

Can't compare like that la. Earn rm8k is nothing in kl. Its like earning SGD2k in Singapore. You gonna struggle. People go KL to do business. Huat big big

That's the problem. And yet there's literally no better job to enhance my earnings locally - believe me, I tried but the general consensus was appalling (hard to get iv for any 5-figure Telco Prod Dev/Prod Owner job in KL ). It got to the point that I thought whatever I was doing all along was moot and useless field, and I gotta accept it is what it is, forever poor life. Yes there are PD/PO job for banking/insurance but not my forte.

But kiasuland telco can readily offer (sealed the deal in ten days from first iv).
Ironically for a tiny country there are more job opportunities related to what I do [even considering the competitors].
And for the first time of my life I can actually afford toys like a good laptop or new iphone

This post has been edited by ceo684: Jul 23 2022, 11:53 AM

What i am trying to tell you is if money is your motivation then becoming an employee in malaysia is the wrong option. You want money in malaysia you have to do business. Its very easy to reach rm1m of revenue in malaysia compared to SGD1m in singapore. Similarly Singapore is better if you are an employee. Conversely doing business is going to be tough in singapore due to competition, tight labour market and crazy rentals. You need to see which one fits then go for it. Like putting square pegs into square holes. No point trying to force square pegs into triangle holes. Its not gonna work.

This post has been edited by Rolexseller123: Jul 23 2022, 12:57 PM

Nice. This screenshot is taken from what website/service?


Share ur story la, then how come u tell TS to stay in MY?

Your degree was in software engineering?

What business do you do here? Sell Rolex?

Instarem
very fast
for first timer u use singx.co find promo code for free transfer lah

Nope. I'm marketing cert with palia GPA.

Subsidy is not just on petrol alone. Cooking oils and even health care services. I don't think any governmentin Malaysia has the political wills and capacity to remove the subsidies. Furthermore, petrol is just one of the many factors.

Think of future as well.
It's easier to be a 8k exec in Singapore than a 15k exec in Malaysia.
If you think you got no drive to climb up the ladder till you reach manager or SM or specialized roles, better to stay in SG because 15k myr for a role is very much harder to justify compared to 8k SGD position

SG, even as an expatriate I feel like MY is slowly losing the purchasing power, you can see the mess with 5G implementation itself, might need another 1 or 2 years at least to kao dim that. Unless you stressed by SG people/hate your work, it's better to stay there especially if you still young, don't come back here, many people actually considering moving there now. Even if you're a motorhead it's still better to save up for real first and then come back and buy your car in MY but all in all better save up more first whenever you can and make sure you're happy doing it!

Kena ketuk la wei, not considering other aspects yet, the salary itself already a no no

9K MYR is low af. You have to consider the much higher income tax deduction too, for a 9K MYR vs 5.5ksgd

Stick with SG. You have more buying power in Singapore than puny MYR.

Because I have lots of foreigner friends with families who are under a heavy burden when they are living in SG as foreigner. If you want to own a home and a car and raise a family, it is far easier to do so in Malaysia than Singapore. I would say you need at least 6 years to establish yourself in Singapore if you are high earner, and at least double that if you are not a high earner.

Wise contrarian words. The escape is becoming a local. There is a strong gravitational pull to convert when the cost of living pressure hits.

If you're young and single ok. You have time on your side. If married or planning to soon, better reconsider, unless you have a good package. Definitely not downgrade in pay

I am sinkiebaharu....not new migrant. 14 years in Singapore already.

Here personal tax is so much, aftrr deduction like shit salary.

My friend story. He went to SG for 12 years and earning about SGD 6k. It is decent money after convert to MYR. However he said if given a choice again he will not go SG and will stay in Msia. Due to high earning he bought a 800k house in Msia, 2 cars for family members and high insurance premium. He did save money however parents and siblings knew he earn more and keep asking support from him. Until today he still remain as single. His life in SG for these 12 years mostly office and room. He rarely go shopping during weekend as his intention is to earn and save money. He went overseas trip once or twice a year with friends as a reward to his hard work.

But now at age over 40 he afraid he might lose his job as senior account executive due to high pay low level. Company may anytime retrench him and replaced with cheaper junior executive. He did tried to apply Msia job and seeking RM 8k salary but none of the company can offer him more than RM 6k. He said if he were stay in Msia at his age now he should at least a teamlead or manager with earning around or above RM 8k. If not due to high currency rate he will not commit to expensive property and will not commit to buy 2 cars for family members.

There are many people will say please go or stay in SG purely because of high currency rate instead of career prospect. I have around 10 friends (Malaysian) working in SG with degree or some got MBA, none of them position in manager until today. A common problem of people who work in SG is over commitment that cause them extremely hard to come back to Msia.

Ummm...the problem here is why after 12 years working in Singapore he still stuck with $6k salary? Never got any promotion, never look for a new job? Attitude problem?

Many people desire to go SG to earn big money but the truth is the earning mostly from exchange rate rather than high salary in SGD. I got other friends who worked in SG now and mostly in between SGD 5-7k and this is quite common. Only 1 friend salary more than SGD 10k because he was in US MNC while in Msia and then assigned to SG for regional role. These friends are in white collar industry and those who went SG for blue collar job their earning is about SGD 2 - 3.5k despite almost 20 years in SG.


People thought after working 10 years they may got chance to promote, yes from junior to senior but it is very hard to move up to management role even after 20 years in SG. It is because in SG there are people across Asia and some from Europe and US seeking career in SG.


In SG even if you were very hardworking but the opportunity is lesser to get promotion compare to Msia because there are many people work harder than us. In Msia if one is hardworking and serious about work it is easy to earn RM 4-5k before 30 and get promotion to earn RM 7-8k after age 35. Yes, this figure cannot compare to SGD even the blue collar job, but you are living together with your love one and enjoy your chill time with friends and family.

No. Not true. I was working in Singapore previously as well. Many of my malaysian peers are holding management position today. In fact many top management position in Singapore is helmed by Malaysian or ex-malaysian. Its an individual problem.

TS,

For me - I'd prefer a job that allows me to play a vital role in the growth and building of a company. Rather than telesales. Telesales hard to breakout to managerial position. Think in terms of its opportunities, career growth and networking - rather than pure incomely perspective.

Stay awhile if you must, but not too long. But ofc this is a generalized view - only you know what decision to make after your due diligence

If based purely on earnings and no other factors like family and such, I would strongly suggest SG.

You will never matched after conversion

I am not sure about your detail but what I share is the real case from my friends. One of my friend share with me, SG is good to make money due to exchange rate but not career advancement. In MNC they are prioritize caucasian follow by local Singapoean. There are some Malaysian stay in SG for long time and they got SG citizenship only they got promoted.

Some Malaysian thought they got good opportunity in SG, what is the special skill we got? Multilingual is not a special skill in SG because in the country they are mostly converse in English meanwhile there are many people around the world joining. Japanese in SG can speak Japanese and English, Korean can speak Korean and English etc. Malaysian mostly speak Malay and English or Chinese can speak Mandarin and other dialect. But it is not so special in SG anymore.

Speaking about competancy, Malaysian stand no advantage over local SG and also people from HK, China, Japan, Korea etc in term of hardworking, critical thinking and education background. In SG when stepping in age of 40 it gonna face challenging of retrenchment, even the local SG afraid of retrenchment due to high salary low position.

In Msia one only need 50% of effort compare working in SG can easily step up to management role due to Malaysia laidback culture and hard to find good quality employee. Though salary lower than SG (due to exchange rate) in management role, but job security is much higher and most important thing can spend more time with friends and family. Most if not all Malaysian who went to SG end up over commitment till they cannot leave SG and back to Msia. My friend's bro work in downstream worker earning SGD 3.5k, he bought a RM 800k semi-D in southern of Klang Valley and 120k car. He usually come back once a month for weekend spend time with family. He enjoy working in SG and comeback once in a blue moon but after got family and kid he find it difficult due to long distance and wife suspected with depression problem as 2 years locked down my friend stucked in SG.

Bangla came Msia to work due to exchange rate and also there is almost no job opportunity in Bangladesh especially for professional job. But Malaysia there are thousands of professional jobs with reasonable salary but people choose to leave. Many said because of better paid in SG but it was merely due to exchange rate rather than career advancement. Many people see the good thing of going SG but very rare we seen people talk about the price they paid behind like sacrifice spending time with family, stuck in a position long time in SG, no friend to hangout in SG etc.

With the SGD getting stronger, i think better stay in SG.

I guess it depends on the field or role as well as the attitude of the individual. I have many friends who have very successful careers in Singapore, earning from $20k/month to $1million/annum there.

can i tumpang this post? i'm also in a dilemma if i wanna go to SG or not for end of this year or next year.

my current pay in MY is about 25k and I've interviewed recently for a job exactly similar to what I'm doing now, just different firm and got an offer of about 15k SGD, I haven't negotiate for more yet, maybe can ask for 1k more. and i haven't try other firms which could prolly pay a bit more.

so the question is this, for my age of 31, the SGD offer is definitely above average pay in SG. and so does my malaysia salary, but i'm thinking about the long run and doubts on my head like:

1. annual increment in SG may be very little and promotion increment won't be as high as in MY
2. if i wanna buy a house or car in SG in future, it won't be cheap
3. i have a nice car and house in KL, but in sg, i have to stay in small unit of condo and take public transport (not sure if i am ready for this change)
4. i always believe that malaysia is a land of opportunities (one day i might meet the right person right time n boom gonna be very very super rich, but in SG, it will just gonna be working working and working to climb up the ladder only)

so above are my dilemma (point no.4 is the one that is really holding me back), but what is not my concern is that i'm not afraid of competing with the local sg peeps and the foreigners while working there.

would appreciate if someone can speak some sense to me and advices. thank you!

This post has been edited by callmecool: Aug 18 2022, 06:35 PM

You are doing so well in Msia. Do not see any specific reason to go SG, especially at such a heavy discount. You know your industry better, and you know you can shop around for better offer. So pass on this offer after giving your best and final offer. Continue seeking for 4. Entrepreneurship is industry specific. What’s commonly, at least in the tech industry, is build scale domestically, and raise capital in SG.

I studied in Singapore and worked there for 4 years to serve my tuition grant bond. Then, I was offered a position in KL with my Singapore pay. I came back for a while before going to Hong Kong. After spending almost 15 years overseas, kind of enlightened that I should spend more time with my ageing parents. So, I returned to Malaysia again when an MNC offered me a contract equivalent to my HK package.

If your skillset is always in demand and universal, your package should be the same regardless of locations. This is like iPhone, you pay the same retail price in KL and Singapore. If we indulge too much in the advantages of the 3.x exchange rate, then our mind-set is like the price of chicken rice, paying SGD 4.20 in Singapore vs paying RM 8 in KL.

I suggest you should get to know more expatriates in KL, a lot of them are getting the same packages they get from their employers back in US and Europe – even they are hired by local Malaysian companies. Coming over here, their employers pay for their accommodations, children education, car and etc.

So, if you are young, your parents are healthy, go and explore the world. One day, you will have the chance to come back here with the same package like what you earn in other countries.

Malaysian workforces generally reject employment in contract. Actually, most of the senior positions in public listed companies or GLC are on contract basis. For me, when I had enough capitals, I started my business. This would be very difficult if I stayed in Singapore. Over there, I probably had to pay for the expensive private property. Most of my uni friends are still working. When you are in Singapore, look at their fast food outlet, you won't be surprised to see many senior citizens working there as the cashier. But, back here, most of senior citizens stop work after 60 years old.

I met my wife and decided to settle here. Malaysia has improved a lot comparing to the time I returned, it is a great place to raise a family. Properties, health care, education, car are all cheaper than Singapore. My children studied in Chinese primary schools – they learn their culture and root. This is something you could not find in Singapore or anywhere else outside Greater China circles. My children studied in private schools – learn at their phases without pressures. This would be a luxury if you are in Singapore. Most people send their kids to government schools in Singapore. They have streaming – express vs normal. I guess Singapore government already realized something not right and this streaming process will cease by 2024.

At the places I stay, there are many Korean, Japanese and Mainland Chinese here. All are young parents and holding MM2H visas. I am sure they also have the same conclusions - properties, health care, education, cars, living expenses are all cheaper here. And, most importantly, they find people here are generally friendlier and relax. Only politicians want the people to hate each others. Once we ignore these politicians, this place is fantastic.

So, if you are 31, no harm to go out and don’t just set Singapore as the only alternative. Explore Shanghai, Hong Kong or other cities. Come back when you have gained the experiences.

This post has been edited by ongss: Aug 19 2022, 01:23 PM