🏆 With no place to stay, some Malaysian workers sleeping rough near Kranji MRT Station

Extract from Author

Past midnight, Mr Armel Sharil waited until the metal gates of Kranji MRT Station were pulled shut at 1am before he carefully laid a cardboard on the floor to lie down and rest his eyes.

Judges’ Comments

Nabilah Awang’s story and Najeer Yusof’s photographs revealed the plight of Malaysians working in Singapore who had no proper accommodation when the border closed. This helped prompt a response to fix an unacceptable situation. 

Author’s Reflection

What is your personal takeaway from your SOAP story?
It struck me how fortunate I was when I learnt that a lot of them had to make the heartbreaking decision to leave their family behind to work here.  If anything, this award has spurred me to uncover more stories in our community and make a difference, especially when I am one of the lucky ones who have been given the privilege to do so through journalism.

Now that your story has been published for some time, do you have any reflections to share post-publishing?
I’m glad that the story has made such an impact on Singaporeans. It doesn’t get more visceral than seeing Singaporeans so willingly open up their homes to strangers who need a roof over their heads. To think that I had a role to play in that makes me so grateful.

What did you hope to convey to readers through this story?
I wanted to keep them informed in the most accurate and unbiased manner, as much as possible. I hoped they felt the struggles of the workers sleeping rough through my writing.

How do you feel for being recognised for your work?
I am very grateful, especially to my editors who had faith that we could deliver the story.

Written by
Nabilah Awang
Najeer Yusof

Thursday,
19 March 2020

Story of the Month Winner