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An Excursion To Malaysia That United Foreign Workers

Prabu Subramanian, aged 33 yrs, worked in Malaysia for 5 years before coming to Singapore to work. During his stay in Malaysia, he longed to visit Malaysia's places of interest. However, due to work commitments, he could not do so. His wish came true recently when Westlite Dormitory organized an excursion to Malaysia during the Chinese New Year weekend. Prabu was one of the 250 foreign workers from India, Bangladesh and China who spent the weekend in Malaysia.

Westlite Dormitory, which operates dormitories at Toh Guan, Mandai, Tuas and Woodlands organized an excursion this year, as they did last year. More workers enthusiastically participated in this year's excursion, compared with the number of workers who joined the excursion last year said Mr Deen, a member of Westlite management.

The workers who spent a night at Pearl International Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, visited Petronas Twin Towers, Batu Caves Temple, Putra Jaya, Chocolate factory and other places of interest in KL. They also visited Genting Highlands and rode on the Skyway cable car. Ramesh Poomalai, aged 25 yrs, said his first experience riding on the cable car was unforgettable. Hailing from Tamil Nadu, he has been working in the construction sector for the past 6 months.

On 6 Feb 2016, the foreign workers departed from Singapore in buses and returned to their dormitories on the night of 9 Feb 2016. Mr Deen said that some workers could not participate in the trip as they could not retrieve their passports from their employers. Such excursions will be organized for dormitory residents in the coming years, he added.

Arumugam Matchakalai, aged 27 yrs, said that during the trip, he felt as if he was in India for holidays. He said that he witnessed both Singapore's modern lifestyle and India's traditional culture in Malaysia. The trip gave him the opportunity to mingle and interact with foreign workers from diverse cultures. Arumugam added that he felt heartened when he saw Bangladesh workers visit the Batu Caves Temple and his Hindu colleagues visit the Pink Mosque at Putra Jaya.

Mr Deen concluded that the excursion helped foreign workers, who worked hard throughout the year, relieve stress and rejuvenate.