Malaysian Worker Sees His Newborn Son for the First Time in 6 Months of COVID-19 Separation

October 1, 2020

Malaysian workers in Singapore who have been separated from their families due to COVID-19 lockdowns finally got the reunion they were longing for just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Trapped for months: The workers, who were assigned across the Causeway in Singapore, were not able to return home for months as border lockdowns made such travels impossible, MSN reports.

The families come from Ipoh, Selangor, Pahang and Johor.
Parents were separated from their children aged as young as six months old to four years old.
Before the pandemic restrictions, it was reportedly easy to commute to Malaysia.
Over the weekend, several Malaysian families managed to reunite with the help of immigration authorities from both countries.
Johor State Executive Councillor Liow Cai Tung credited authorities from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA) and the Immigration Department of Malaysia for making the tearful reunion happen for eight families.
The ICA has arranged transport for the children and even assisted in bringing their luggage across the checkpoint.

Separated from their newborn: Among the affected families were a couple with a newborn baby who got separated from them for six months.

Just three days after the baby’s birth in Johor Bahru, the father immediately returned to Singapore for work.
Meanwhile, the mother also returned to Singapore following the end of her one-month maternity leave.
The couple had earlier planned to return home during the weekends to look after their child.
However, due to the lockdowns, they were left with Zoom calls to check up on their baby who was being cared for by an aunt.
The reunion left the family in tears, including the aunt, who was already expecting the separation to last until next year.
She feared that the baby she had helped to bring up may no longer recognize the parents.

Feature Image via Liow Cai Tung

Share this Article