Johor's chief minister Osman Sapian said he would welcome Singaporeans shopping in Malaysia on June 1 when the country's 6 percent Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be abolished.

Osman was newly sworn in as Johor's 16th chief minister on May 12 after Johor fell to the opposition in the 14th general election -- the first time since Malaysia's independence.

He was at a meeting with Singapore's Consul-General in Johor Bahru, Rajpal Singh, at the Johor state government offices in Kota Iskandar today, May 28.

Same perks offered to S'poreans too

According to Channel NewsAsia, Osman said:

"Whatever we offer to local Johorians, if it is also offered to Singaporeans, why not?

It will help boost our economy. We have no objections. We are open to it. We are an open country."

Mustafa might open in Johor

The assemblyman for Kempas state also said that the popular retail hub Mustafa Centre might be opening a branch in Johor.

However, there is no suitable place for the new branch yet.

Even so, he welcomes the idea of Mustafa opening a branch in Johor, saying he might redevelop the Pekan Rabu area in Tampoi for this purpose.

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He said:

"This is a successful company in Singapore, and a lot of Malaysians love to go to Singapore to shop at Mustafa.

If there's Mustafa in Johor, it will reduce congestion."

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