How Johor takes inspiration from Singapore

JOHOR BAHRU – When Mr Noran Adan was about to pay for groceries earlier in May at his neighbourhood wet market, the retiree was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had received RM200 (S$64.80) in assistance from the state government.

Merchants at the market, who had been briefed on a new scheme, had asked if he had his MyKad identity card, which the payout is linked to. That was when he learnt that he was among 50 residents to receive the Baucar Kasih Johor, or Johor Care Voucher, two weeks ahead of others in Kampung Melayu Majidee, an urban Malay village.

Within a week, the 66-year-old retiree spent about RM100 on groceries and meals: “I’ve been using the vouchers daily, to buy chicken, vegetables and other daily needs.”

This is the first time the Johor state government is giving out digital vouchers instead of cash, mirroring a national assistance programme called Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) that was broadened to include all Malaysians in 2025.

Johor’s scheme, which will cost the state RM14.9 million, was announced at its 2026 budget in November 2025.

More than 4,000 households in Kampung Melayu Majidee received the digital vouchers from May 16 under a pilot scheme, ahead of the rest of the state. Similar to SARA, residents can redeem the funds using their MyKad identity cards.

On May 4, Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi told the state assembly that the vouchers are meant to help residents cope with rising costs of living while also revitalising community businesses.

For that reason, the vouchers can be used only at the recently upgraded Medan Niaga Kampung Melayu Majidee, a shopping complex with 147 shops about a 10-minute drive from downtown Johor Bahru.

This pilot marks the first phase of the digital voucher rollout across the southern state’s municipal councils.

Members of the Johor administration have made no secret that they drew inspiration from Singapore for the design of both the digital voucher programme and the shopping complex.

In August 2025, Datuk Onn Hafiz and top state officials visited Geylang Serai Market and Food Centre, with a view to transforming the management of public markets and hawker centres in Johor.

Johor’s housing and local government committee chairman Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, who was part of the delegation, said in a Facebook post then that Singapore’s CDC vouchers were an “attractive initiative” that “not only helps reduce cost of living burdens, but also directly supports small businesses and the local microeconomy”. He said it should be made a benchmark for similar programmes in Johor.

Two months later, Datuk Jafni said that he and his team had a virtual meeting with Singapore’s Ministry of Finance on the Republic’s implementation of CDC vouchers. He added that the CDC voucher model provides “valuable lessons” for improving Johor’s digital aid ecosystem, making it more “inclusive and efficient”.

Meanwhile, the RM27.59 million refurbishment of the Majidee shopping complex was modelled on Geylang Serai Market, which Mr Onn Hafiz said on May 4 was “not just a place to eat – it also functions as a community centre”.

“We want to replicate that concept at Medan Niaga Kampung Melayu Majidee,” he added, noting that it aims to be a “community hub” that offers “food that is good, affordable and clean”.

Among Singapore-inspired changes at the two-storey Majidee shopping complex are rules requiring diners to return their crockery and trays after meals, stricter vendor hygiene standards that include the wearing of gloves, aprons and hairnets, and a helpdesk for MyKad payment issues. Stalls are also encouraged to sell budget meals from RM6.

When visiting the shopping complex on May 14, the chief minister called it a “good example for Johor and possibly the rest of Malaysia” and instructed officials to roll out systems accepting digital vouchers at selected government-managed food courts across Johor within three months.

Cash aid that can be used only at local businesses is a common policy tool for many countries, said Ms Ariel Tan, a senior fellow and coordinator of the Malaysia programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

But it was “probably more economical for the Johor government to adapt a Singaporean model to its particular local needs and resources, given our similar population mix and culture”, she added.

“MB Onn Hafiz is generally well disposed to Singapore, as are the Johor rulers,” she said.

“He is of the younger generation of leaders with less of the anti-Singapore baggage carried by those who were politically indoctrinated under Dr Mahathir Mohamad 1.0’s long rule.”

Dr Mahathir, now 100, was Malaysian prime minister twice, serving from 1981 to 2003 before briefly returning to office in 2018.

Ms Tan noted that the use of targeted measures, including the Baucar Kasih Johor, also helps the UMNO-led state government distinguish itself from the federal government, which is led by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

“Undoubtedly, it would be hoped that this would reach UMNO’s base among the working class and small business owners as the party prepares for the next state election,” she added.

The UMNO-led Barisan Nasional coalition and PH are expected to go head to head at the next Johor state election due by February 2027, as both coalitions have announced their intention to contest all 56 seats.

“Johoreans are more aware of Singapore government initiatives, and so perhaps are more likely to compare the performance of their government with that of the Singapore Government,” she said, noting that the pressure on the Johor government is thus greater.

She add that what is interesting is Mr Onn Hafiz’s emphasis on the element of strong community engagement.

“It conveys a personal care for the people and local community that is part of his leadership brand, which should help the party win hearts and minds among its base,” she said.

Businesses told ST the push to revive the shopping complex also stems from its long struggle to attract footfall. The current two-storey building, completed in 2018, replaced a more popular single-storey market demolished in 2014. Merchants said the new complex never gained traction as customers were unfamiliar with it, with some mistaking it for a badminton hall.

The building was shut during the Covid-19 pandemic and had fallen into disrepair when it reopened. Shop owners were then told to vacate in 2023 for two years of upgrades until mid-2025.

“This constant moving of our businesses has caused us to lose customers over the years,” said grocery merchant Wan Muhammad Hazid Haron.

But souvenir shop assistant Erra Sani told ST the vouchers have given residents extra cash to spend on retail products like clothes and souvenirs, beyond daily necessities.

Ms Zarita Zainal, chairwoman of the Kampung Melayu Majidee Business Association, said she hopes the continued promotion of the complex will attract more visitors, including those from Singapore, noting that 30 per cent of shoppers are from across the Causeway.

“I think our shopping complex is bigger and better than Geylang,” she quipped.