It’s no secret that Singaporeans love heading to Johor Bahru, whether it’s for cafe hopping, shopping, or stocking up on groceries and necessities.
As it seems, such behaviour does not sit well with one Malaysian woman, who ranted about what she calls hoarding behaviour by Singaporeans. But not just any product – she had a bone to pick with Singaporeans who buy baked goods in JB.
“No offense but I can’t stand Singaporean people coming to JB buying breads and pastries like Singapore doesn’t sell bread,” she wrote on Threads.
She went on to describe an incident she witnessed. “Three to four family members standing in front of the pastries asking each other what they want and hoarding stacking breads on their trays, while other customers couldn’t even get to the bread. When they have finally walked away, there’s no bread left??”
“Where is your social awareness walao, you’re in another country, are you not embarrassed?” she questioned.
She also questioned if such behaviour was “boosting another country’s economy” or driven by “greed and self-entitlement”.
The woman’s post quickly garnered attention, drawing conflicting responses from netizens.
While some Singaporeans agreed that the family’s actions were embarrassing and “cheap”, others believed the woman shouldn’t be generalising Singaporeans as a whole.
A number said the bakery owner would have likely been happy about business being brisk, and that the family wasn’t doing anything wrong since there was no limit placed on how much they could purchase.
The woman also received comments from those who felt she was wrong to have assumed the family was “hoarding the bread”, since the items bought were, after all, perishables.
“Hoarding is a disorder where you keep unwanted things and [find it] hard to let go. Don’t confuse hoarding with bulk purchase,” a netizen reasoned. Others said the group could have been buying the bread and pastries for others back at home.
“What I’m pointing out is the behaviour of some Singaporeans who are coming in to mass buy, driving up prices for locals. It’s about the impact of this behaviour on the local economy and the daily lives of people who live here,” the OP replied to comments.
She also added that the issue impacts more than “business owners” who benefit from Singaporeans’ spending.
A number of netizens also expressed they couldn’t believe she experienced “so much rage” over bread.
Or maybe she just really likes bread?
Photos: Threads, Unsplash/ mohamed hassouna