Johor businesses eager to expand, but finding workers is proving a tall order

EDDIE Eo, the manager of a car wash and detailing centre in Johor Bahru, has a happy problem to deal with these days. In recent weeks, an average of 80 to 100 cars visit the Supwave Car Care Centre - a figure not seen since the days before the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020.

The 46-year-old, however, is worried if his team can continue to cope with the large number of customers because of a severe lack of manpower. Over the past month, in addition to his usual batch of local customers, there has been a steady increase in the number of Singapore-registered cars visiting his centre now that the land borders between Singapore and Malaysia have reopened.

“We have around 10,000 members from Singapore, and many have called us to make bookings. More of them say they will come over after they renew their passports,” said Eo, who has been working at the company for 15 years.