Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Mohammad Faris Abdullah’s daily commute between his home in Malaysia and his job in Singapore took just 30 minutes. When the countries’ borders shut without warning in March last year, the 37-year-old food delivery driver was left stranded and homeless in the city-state.
Almost two years later, an easing of restrictions this week finally allowed him to see his family again.
“It is like you have been locked up in the prison ... then you finally get to see your son and family,” Mohammad Faris said at Singapore’s border before heading to Malaysia’s southernmost border city, Johor Bahru.
Photo: Reuters
He was one among tens of thousands in both countries left stranded by the closure of one of the world’s busiest land borders, separated from families and fearing for their jobs.
His son was four when Mohammad Faris last saw him.
“I was surprised. He is very tall and his shoes are also big,” he said during an emotional reunion with the now six-year-old.
“I have to spend more time to understand him better,” Mohammad Faris said, expressing regret over the time spent apart.
His son, Muhammad Ishaq bin Mohammad Faris, was simply pleased to see his father again.
“I missed papa and I’m happy papa is here,” the boy said.
The father, who was forced to sleep in his car near a beach in Singapore for six months before moving in with his brother, said he made friends with others like him who were stranded.
Despite cross-border land and air travel resuming for vaccinated citizens this week, returning to his home just across the border was still not straightforward.
As a Singaporean, Mohammad Faris was not eligible to use the land crossing into Malaysia, currently restricted to citizens with long-term passes in both countries.
Instead, he had to fly about 350km to Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, before driving a similar distance back down the peninsula to see his family.
Malaysia and Singapore aim to open the land border to all travelers from the middle of next month, but there are concerns that the plan could be postponed due to the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was