Malaysian YouTuber asks Singaporeans how his country can 'catch up' with the little red dot

Comparisons between Singapore and Malaysia are not new and are often hot topics for discussion. 

There's also no need to remind either side of the history they share. However, over the decades since both countries parted ways, there's a sense or perception that Singapore is ahead of its neighbour or has at least widened the gap economically.

Malaysian Peter Yong, or commonly Mr Money TV on YouTube, was keen on understanding this topic better from a Singaporean point of view.

Last Wednesday (Sept 20), he posted a seven-minute-long YouTube clip of him interviewing Singaporeans on the street, asking them a simple question: "Can Malaysia really catch up with Singapore?"

Anyone living on these shores would know how potentially trigger-inducing their responses might be.

A Singaporean man Peter spoke to was quick to provide a caveat.

Before providing an answer, he mentioned that his responses will be approximations at best. The interviewee also apologised should his response come with errors.

"Just give me five seconds to think about it," he added.

Currency and political stability

A common theme among responses was how Singapore is seen as the more developed nation.

From an economic standpoint, many pointed to the fact that the spending power of Singaporeans far exceeds that of Malaysians.

In May 2023, the Malaysian ringgit continued to weaken against the Singapore dollar and slumped to a fresh low of 3.4102.

"When we shop in Malaysia, we feel the economy is better for us," an interviewee said.

While Singapore is an expensive city to live in, a fellow interviewee felt that Malaysians have it "a little bit harder".

Only through a Singaporean lens would Malaysia's cost of living be seen as affordable.

Another point raised by some is Malaysia's political scene.

"Malaysia seems to be in political turmoil, whereby it's always changing political parties, and there's always the incentive of chasing power," a respondent said.

Finding a solution

Pinpointing problems and issues is all well and good. But there has to be a solution to them.

Peter goes one further, asking Singaporeans if it's possible for Malaysia to bridge the gap that currently exists between the two nations.

Amid the negativity surrounding the responses on Malaysia's current state though, an interviewee mentioned that the country has all the necessary tools to achieve economic progress.

"They do have better resources than us. They have a huge population," he added.

With a huge population comes untapped potential, and the interviewee believed that there are "a lot of capable Malaysians" and the challenge for the nation right now according to him is talent retention and controlling the talent exodus.

There are more opportunities for Malaysian talents within their own country, he said. 

The issue of politics also made it to the discussion table.

A few interviewees seem to agree that Malaysia's politics had to be "more stable" first.

One expanded on his thoughts and mentioned that there could be a sense of helplessness among some Malaysians.

"Maybe Malaysians themselves feel like perhaps, 'what's the point of working so hard if I don't get equal opportunities?" he asked.

ALSO READ: 27-year-old Malaysian reveals how he lives on $10 a day in Singapore

amierul@asiaone.com

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