LETTER | Incumbent Johor menteri besar Hasni Mohammad said one of the main reasons the assembly was dissolved for an early election was for investors and businesses to expand their operations into the state.

However, most see that the state government being dissolved was to get a fresh mandate from the people of Johor after losing a duly elected government to a backdoor one.

In fact, investors would wish to put their money in a stable and friendly administration with less extremism of any form. So, the state needs a stable government to attract and sustain investments.

Meanwhile, Singapore should respect the democratic rights of Malaysians to vote. Thus, we call upon the Singapore government to direct Singaporean companies to give special leave to Malaysian workers to return to Johor to vote for the parties of their choice.

Due to the pandemic, thousands of Malaysians working in Singapore have been forced to stay on the island state for more than a year. Some fear losing their jobs and some have commitments in Johor.

Though some have been given very short leave to return.

Malaysians prefer to work in Singapore owing to the dollar there being stronger in exchange value for them to meet the high cost of living in Johor.

Those in the Health Ministry, Foreign Ministry, and Immigration Department of Malaysia should by now have started discussions with their Singaporean government counterparts to ensure the right to vote of Malaysians can be exercised by Malaysian workers returning from Singapore without any roadblocks.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.