The year-end usually brings hordes of Singaporeans to Johor Bahru, but this holiday season, the city feels unusually quiet, according to business owners in the capital of the Malaysian state of Johor. They believe this is due to the stronger Malaysian ringgit, with the drop becoming especially noticeable since last month. Besides the ringgit’s strong performance, other factors included the unpredictable weather.   “November and December have always been the busiest period for businesses here, but that does not seem to be the case this time.   “The crowd from Singapore is missing, even on weekends. This is probably the worst year-end crowd we have seen since the Covid-19 pandemic,” business operator Robin Jian said. The third-generation owner of a cafe popular among Singa­po­reans said the stronger ringgit was largely responsible for the drop in customers. “I believe this contributed to at least a 30 per cent to 40 per cent decline in Singapore visitors. Currency has always been a major factor for Singaporeans, as we’ve seen in previous trends,” he added. Jian said other factors, such as the gloomy weather, worsening traffic and implementation of the vehicle entry permit for foreign vehicles, also contributed to the thinning crowd. Smaller crowds seen in Johor Bahru town, an area that is often filled with Singaporean visitors during this time of the year. Photo: The Star   Echoing the view was 52-year-old businessman S. Sures. “The drop was gradual initially, but after Deepavali, the flow of visitors dipped,” he said.   “The currency is definitely one of the reasons, but other factors, especially the weather, also contributed to the situation.” “Although Johor Bahru usually sees rain at the end of the year, this time it is heavier and far more unpredictable,” Sures said, adding that the multiple ongoing upgrading projects, especially in the town area, may have contri­buted to the drop. “There are just too many projects happening at the same time, worsening the already heavy traffic and making parking even more difficult. “I think all of these factors, along with the ringgit’s stronger position against the Singapore dollar, have created the perfect storm,” he said. A frequent visitor to Johor from Selangor, who wished to be known as Raj, said he was surprised to see far fewer Singapore-registered vehicles on the roads and in shopping centre car parks last weekend. “Usually, the weekends are full of Singaporeans coming over to shop and eat out. It would be so difficult to get a parking space and the shelves at the supermarkets are also almost emptied out. “But this time, it was far from that,” he said. Raj added that shopkeepers told him the strong ringgit was the main reason. “Most Singaporeans are very sensitive to the exchange rate, and you can see the effect in the lower numbers crossing over,” said a shopkeeper in Taman Pelangi, a commercial hub in the city. Over the past week, the exchange rate for S$1 hovered between 3.17 ringgit and 3.19 ringgit, compared with about 3.30 ringgit during the same period last year.   This story was first published by The Star     https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3335282/stronger-malaysian-ringgit-keeps-singapore-shoppers-away-johor

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In a potential incident of road rage at the Johor Bahru customs checkpoint, a female car passenger reached into another car and snatched the passports of the driver and passenger. A Mothership reader, Nur Aisyah, shared that her parents, Su and Nora, were driving back home from Johor Bahru to Singapore on Dec. 1, 2025 at around 4:54pm. After not giving way to a car attempting to merge lanes, the driver and passenger banged on the car with doors, hurled items at their vehicle, and allegedly landed a blow on Aisyah's mother. The female passenger also allegedly took Su and Nora's passports, leaving her parents momentarily stranded in Johor Bahru and unable to return to Singapore.   Co-driver purportedly punched reader's mother   Aisyah told Mothership that Su and Nora were queuing for customs on the Johor Bahru Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) Highway towards the Sultan Iskandar Building (CIQ) in Malaysia. A Singapore-registered car attempted to enter their lane. The cars made contact, and Su and Nora's car sustained damage as well. From dashcam footage Aisyah had acquired from a witness, the other car did not appear to signal right until Su and Nora's car was almost next to theirs.   Video from Nur Aisyah.   A woman was later seen exiting the car and forcing the passenger door of Su and Nora's car open. This was despite the latter attempting to drive forward.   Video from Nur Aisyah.   According to a police report that Aisyah's parents filed after the incident, which was seen by Mothership, the driver "did not signal". Before the car had even attempted to merge into the lane, Su had already sounded his horn as there was insufficient space. When Su and Nora did not give way, the driver opened his door to bang it on their car. The passenger, a middle aged woman, also got out of the vehicle and started kicking, punching and throwing items like rubbish and plastic bottles at their vehicle. The woman eventually managed to force Nora's door open, Aisyah said, and allegedly punched Nora on the nose. This, she said, was not captured in the dashcam footage. The woman then proceeded to shout at them to step out of the vehicle, the police report read.   Snatched passport from car dashboard   After stepping out, the woman and male driver demanded that Nora and Su look at the damages caused to their car. As Nora's passenger door was open, the woman snatched their passports from the dashboard, telling them to go to the police station with her to file an incident report if they wanted to get the passports back.   Su, on the right in green. Screenshot from Nur Aisyah.   "As she had taken our passport, my husband also asked for theirs, but they drove away. I wish to state that my husband and I did not insult them nor provoke them," Nora said in the police report. Su and Nora were then left stranded in Johor, Aisyah said. Unsure of what to do, the couple called 999 and was advised to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to report that their passports had been snatched. According to the police report, Su and Nora were told to make a U-turn, and were advised to lodge a report with the Malaysian police as the incident occurred on Malaysian soil. However, on the way to the nearest Johor police station to file a report, ICA called to inform them that their passports had been surrendered as lost and found items. They were then told that an ICA officer from Woodlands Checkpoint would arrange for their re-entry.   Rental car damaged   Upon returning to Singapore, the couple filed a report with ICA, as well as a second police report the day after.   Nora also went to the Accident & Emergency department for her injuries. As her mother was "in shock", she did not take any photos of her injuries at the time of the incident, Aisyah said. Additionally, the rental car her parents were driving sustained damage to the right rear fender and the left rear fender was dented in the process.   ICA's response   Responding to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed that reports were lodged regarding the incident. ICA said in a statement to Mothership that it was aware of a case on Dec. 1 where "a traveller handed over two Singapore passports to ICA officers at Woodlands Checkpoint". ICA officers promptly contacted the rightful owners of the passports and facilitated their return with the assistance of their Malaysian counterparts at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar.   This enabled the passports' owners to clear immigration and return to Singapore via Woodlands Checkpoint.

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