Hello, it's been a month plus since I last wrote on this page. I've been a little exhausted at night after work, which explains my absence from blogging and in fact, on social networks. I'm not saying that I haven't been on facebook and twitter whatsoever, because I do still go on these sites but on my mobile. Anyway, boring rantings aside, the main point of my writing today is to share my personal opinions on the living costs in Malaysia.
Ever since I started working and earning my own salary for personal expenses including transport, clothing, food and groceries, I am beginning to appreciate how fortunate I am to be working with my current company, Amway, that manage to offer me a good starting salary, unlike many other food industries which take advantage of fresh graduates by offering very low starting salaries. I know many of you might think that fresh graduates cannot ask much, but I don't think what I am asking is overly ridiculous. I mean, some companies are offering me salaries below MYR 2000. Come on, even my supervisor/lecturer who was in the industry TEN (10) years back started with a pay of MYR 1800. How is it that after 10 years, the starting pay hasn't increased, whilst cost of living has increased tremendously? Furthermore, science graduates who paid higher tuition fees than business and commerce graduates are offered much lower starting salaries. If this isn't under appreciation of science graduates, I don't know what or how to describe it. The government who claims they want to attract more of the younger generation to take up the sciences, how are them young ones going to be attracted to choose a career in sciences if the prospect is so dim? It's no wonder many science graduates have switched or are switching to marketing, management, sales and commerce jobs, because they get better pay in these fields. I'm not complaining that those who're in the mentioned fields are very well paid, but I'm just reiterating the fact that science graduates are very under appreciated.
Speaking of living costs, I personally feel that our cost of living is very high. Most of you might think that cost of living in Malaysia is relatively cheaper than many other developed nations like Singapore, Australia and UK, but I beg to differ. If you're converting currencies to see which country has higher costs, then obviously things might still be cheaper in Malaysia. However, if we compare on a dollar-to-dollar basis, Malaysians are paying much more for equivalent items across these nations. For instance, in terms of food and groceries, a litre of milk in Malaysia costs about MYR 5.0 to MYR 8.0, depending on the brand purchased. The equivalent in Singapore only costs about SGD 3.3. A loaf of bread in Malaysia costs about MYR 3.5, whilst a larger loaf of bread in Australia costs only about AUD 1.5. Even hawker food in Klang Valley are becoming as expensive as MYR 4 for a small portion and up to MYR 6 for a large portion. In Singapore, I can still get similar dishes at SGD 3 for a medium portion and SGD 4 for a large portion. A tall cup of Starbucks coffee in the UK might cost only about GBP 3 or less, and in Singapore about SGD 6, whilst in Malaysia is about MYR 11. No matter how one is filthy rich in Malaysia, the monetary value of the item is still more expensive than in the UK and Singapore.
As for clothing, a basic tank top from H&M in Malaysia cost MYR 19.9 whilst in Singapore, the same item costs only SGD 7.9. A belt from ASOS, which costs only GBP 10.0 is about MYR 50.0 in Malaysia. Of course we have to take into account the currency conversion in this case, but my point is that among people who're earning the same figure in their respective currencies, Malaysians are spending more of their salaries on equivalent items. Yesterday, I got myself two basic tank tops and a polo tee from H&M Singapore at only SGD 33.7. Today, I got myself another tank top and a polo tee from H&M KL at MYR 59.8. Do you get my point? My friends who have been to Hong Kong told me that the H&M there is even cheaper than in Singapore and Malaysia after currency conversion! And Hong Kong is one of Asia's high income nations!
Another basic necessity in this country which is overpriced is the public transportation. My travel expenses to and from work daily costs about MYR 7.5, and this is also because I am getting the 50% fare discount on the KTM line as my monthly income is less than MYR 3000. Otherwise, my daily rail expenses may come up to about MYR 11! However, I still find rail and bus fares exceptionally expensive if compared to that in Singapore. Furthermore, in Singapore, passengers who use the EZ-Link stored-value cards for electronic payment are entitled to 15% fare discounts on all their public transportation including MRT, LRT and buses. The same can be said for UK's Oyster cards and Hong Kong's Octopus cards. Here, our Touch n' Go cards doesn't even offer rail and bus fare discounts. On the contrary, there might even be additional surcharge of 10% for payment such as car parking fees. How is it more convenient and affordable for consumers, I really don't know. Recently, I took the Express Rail Link train from KL International Airport to KL Central Interchange, which costs a whooping MYR 35 for single journey! When I took the MRT from the city to Changi International Airport, the ride only costed SGD 1.70!
So in conclusion, one who thinks Malaysia have low cost of living is either a non-citizen from a higher income nation or is a citizen who is filthy rich. Otherwise, I assume the person must be somehow mad.
