Singaporeans Buying Groceries In JB Reported As Mass-Buying Panic When It May Be A Norm
You may be forgiven for thinking that World War 3 is near, judging by reports that Singaporeans have crossed the Causeway to raid supermarkets in Johor Bahru (JB) for supplies.
China Press reported that Singaporean cars were at AEON Mall Tebrau City early on Sat (8 Feb).
But we’re not really sure if this is out of the ordinary. Maybe the face masks are, however.
Shoppers allegedly wipe out shelves in just 20 minutes
What China Press discovered at AEON was allegedly not dissimilar to Singapore’s supermarkets on Fri (7 Feb).
Groceries were flying off the shelves, with some aisles looking very empty and very forlorn.
However, staff were diligently restocking the shelves to ensure that they don’t go empty.
Queues were long at some counters but less so in others, and we’re glad that they’re at least wearing masks.
Unlike in Singapore, the queues were not rampant and abandoned baskets weren’t strewn around.
The instant noodle section was definitely well-stocked.
Man in KL “informs” Singaporeans that shelves are full there
A Singaporean in KL, Tawfik Daud, saw the situation here and was probably amused enough to make a hilarious video “reassuring” Singaporeans.
With captions like “KL so calm” and “If not enough, come to KL” coupled with dance moves around the very full shelves, the video has captured fans from both sides of the border.
Could they have taken his word for it and crossed over into JB?
Netizens say crowded JB supermarkets normal for weekends
Many Singaporeans do in fact do their grocery shopping in JB on weekends, as this netizen notes:
As such, whether the situation as seen in supermarkets there yesterday is out of the ordinary is not immediately clear, as they could merely be the usual crowds.
Also, there appears to be an implication that Singaporeans would be more likely to wear face masks in light of the DORSCON Orange situation.
This, again, probably isn’t unique to Singaporeans alone, and we should perhaps not be quick to label those in masks as Singaporean.
Featured image adapted from China Press.
