![]() The combination has caused one big traffic jam. Singapore’s strong exchange rate has coincided with a post-Covid travel boom - spending on foreign travel from residents in the city state rose 240% in the second quarter year on year - and grinding infrastructure problems. Malaysia is not alone in seeing its weak currency act as a draw for tourists - Buenos Aires in Argentina last year designed a campaign to lure visitors with its favourable exchange rates, while American travellers have this summer taken advantage of the dollar’s strength making trips abroad more affordable. ![]() In comparison, its palm-oil rich neighbour has kept its policy accommodative. Singapore’s central bank, which uses foreign exchange as its main policy tool, has focused on efforts to strengthen its currency. The Singapore dollar is benefiting from the differing monetary policies the two nations are using to counter inflation. The previous record was 3.1681 in March 2017. Fuelling the current craze for all things Malaysian, is the strength of the Singapore dollar, which has risen more than 5% against the Malaysian ringgit this year, closing at a record RM3.2473 on Aug 11. Singaporeans are well versed at hopping over to Malaysia to take advantage of cheaper goods and services - in 2015 demand was so great that money changers at times ran out of ringgit. Many residents in the heavily-urbanised city state make frequent trips across the border to Johor, where attractions include laid-back cafes and reasonably-priced restaurants, Desaru’s beaches, village resorts and theme parks like Legoland. Singapore is a 280 sq m (725 sq km) island trading hub located off the southern tip of Malaysia. “I treat it as a short getaway from the city state, with great food and services like a haircut at a much affordable price,” she said. She chose a dentist in Johor and paid RM700 rather than the more than S$400 (RM1,285) it would have cost in Singapore. Still, Susan Lim, a 68-year-old homemaker, was more than willing to put up with these inconveniences when she needed wisdom tooth surgery. Frustrated travellers have taken to social media, recording road rage incidents - including a woman pulling off another car’s license plate - while others are making Tiktok videos about the wait at immigration. It’s gotten so bad that Singapore’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority issues regular congestion updates on the radio and advised people to cancel travel plans during recent holidays. In normal circumstances, the journey takes only 20 minutes. The result is snarl-ups of up to four hours at border checkpoints between the city state and Malaysia’s southern state of Johor. Keen to take advantage of a record high exchange rate, Singaporean bargain hunters are streaming into the neighboring nation to snap up goods and take advantage of more reasonably priced entertainment and services like health care. ![]() (Aug 23): Singapore's surging currency is contributing to massive traffic jams on the road to Malaysia.
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