'Shouldn't depend on Singaporeans': Viral post of empty KSL City in JB sparks online debate, Lifestyle News

PUBLISHED ONOctober 04, 2021 10:53 AMByMelissa Teo

Thanks to the pandemic, it has been over a year since many of us have stepped foot into Malaysia and many of us Singaporeans definitely miss visiting our next-door neighbour.

Unfortunately, they aren't faring as well as we hoped they would be.

Last Friday (Oct 1), a Johor Bahru (JB) Facebook group posted a series of photos of the city's KSL City mall. While many of us remember it to be one of the hottest destinations in town, the images revealed a desolate ghost town.

The accompanying caption also lamented, "now there are no Singaporeans, not sure when [the mall] can recover".

Since then, the post has gone viral with over 2,600 shares and more than 400 comments at the time of writing.

However, most of the remarks haven't been very sympathetic.

Some netizens blamed the mall's management for being too complacent and cautioned Malaysian businesses against relying too much on the tourist dollar.

*"Haha, who told you to ignore the local customers and make the prices so high. and the salary so low? Who is to blame?"*
PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook

*"It's also time to teach them a lesson, before this the management was too arrogant."*
PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook

*"It's just that we rely too much on foreign customers, if we had taken care of our local customers, it shouldn't have been like that."*
PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook

*"Damn it, who told you to do business without thinking of the local customers? Now you want to rely on the local customers for support? You should have gone bankrupt earlier."*
PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook

There were also some sarcastic comments calling out Malaysians who had complained about Singaporean visitors before the pandemic.

"In the past, locals complained that Singaporeans made the prices of goods here increase but now, they lament that there are no Singaporeans to consume their goods. Just like the Malaysian government, they keep changing their mind like flipping roti prata."
PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook

But of course, there will always be Singaporeans who simply miss the good old JB-hopping days.

Whatever the case, some good news is that cross-border travel between Malaysia and Singapore could be a possibility, with Johor leaders and experts expressing that it "should be a top priority".

melissateo@asiaone.com

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