Businesswoman shares reasons for moving to Malaysia with family
In March, a Singaporean businesswoman shared on social media why she left Singapore for Malaysia about three years ago.
Among the reasons she listed were her child’s education and the lifestyle in Singapore.
The post has since gained more than 390,000 views on Facebook, and garnered mixed reactions from netizens.
Why businesswoman decided to move family out of Singapore
Ms Goh, who runs a Singapore-based sales consultancy that helps scale up companies in Asia, told MS News that she had always wanted to relocate out of Singapore, though not necessarily to Malaysia.
Desiring the “freedom” to work anywhere and anytime she wanted, Ms Goh started making preparations for such an arrangement five years ago.
And in 2022, she and her husband finally moved from Singapore to Malaysia when their child was a baby.
Image courtesy of Shannon Goh
At the time, the couple, who traveled frequently for work, concluded that it did not “make as much financial sense” to maintain a property or lifestyle in Singapore when they were away so much.
They officially began preparing for their move from Singapore a year before they actually left.
Ms Goh and her husband had considered a few countries to relocate to, bearing in mind their finances and property prices, and even took trips to get a feel of the environment.
They made trips to survey the neighbourhoods they wanted to move into, and looked at the properties, schools, and establishments in the area.
Ultimately, they decided to move to Kuala Lumpur, signing a short-term lease while applying for long-term residency as they thought the environment was a good fit for their family.
Mother wishes for child to experience a different kind of education
In her video, Ms Goh said that her child’s education was among the reasons behind their move.
She told MS News that back when she first started thinking about relocating, there had already been talks of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This led her to question whether traditional education in Singapore is still relevant to a child’s development and success.
Ms Goh says Singapore’s education system has long geared its students to become a “human resource capital for the world”, allowing them to be hired by multinational companies and be paid well.
However, she believes that the traditional emphasis on grades will not remain relevant with AI replacing many jobs. Instead, critical thinking, adaptability and resilience are crucial in today’s changing environment.
Because of this, she wants her child to learn in a more adaptable setting.
Image courtesy of Shannon Goh
“I don’t know whether Singapore’s education system can provide that because there’s so much parental pressure on kids’ grades rather than the exploration of skill sets like vibe coding, content creation,” said Ms Goh.
She also pushes back against the common belief in Singapore that studying hard and getting good grades at national examinations is what one needs to secure a good job.
“I disagree with that because I don’t have a university degree [but] I run a pretty successful company,” added the businesswoman.
Ms Goh shared that she has encountered others in Singapore who don’t have a degree but are successful. Similarly, there are also those who received a conventional education and took further studies and are doing well.
