On Nov 22, a New Straits Times (NST) report titled “Homeless Malaysians in Singapore” claimed that hundreds of Malaysians working in Singapore were forced to sleep by the roadside or on public benches after the Malaysia-Singapore border was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Straits Times today reported that the ministry had contacted the report’s only source, a man named Shahruddin Haeal Helmy Mohd Noh, as it wanted to provide assistance to the workers.

However, Shahruddin was unable to provide specific names nor contact details of any homeless Malaysian worker whom he had allegedly encountered.

“He admitted that he never spoke directly to any of these workers and cannot confirm if they were indeed homeless,” the ministry was quoted as saying in the Singapore daily.

“He did not know of any Malaysian worker who does not have a place to stay and also stated that he did not tell the reporter from NST that ‘over 100 Malaysians there had become homeless’.”

According to the report, Singaporean officials had conducted routine checks and visited various locations islandwide but had not found any work pass holders sleeping in the street.

The ministry said that people found sleeping in the open are rendered assistance, with the employers of work pass holders immediately told to provide lodging, while workers whose employers are unable to provide immediate housing are temporarily housed at the Migrant Workers’ Centre.

The ministry also said it had not received any referrals from the various NGOs it works with on the presence of work pass holders sleeping in the open.