06/09/2021
The new policymakers seem like having very little knowledge about what MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) program is all about.
During Tun M's era, it was introduced to encourage high-income foreigners, mainly the Japanese, to choose Malaysia as their retirement country. The program aims to promote Malaysia as a multiracial, tourism-friendly country. Although MM2H holders are generally here to enjoy a high-quality lifestyle with a lower cost of living than their original home country, they are not permitted to work as an employee or enjoy much welfare benefit as a citizen here. It is, in short, a long-stay travel visa for retirees or expats to settle and retire here.
The new criteria come with many self-contradicting policies for both new applicants and existing holders for renewal, such as the unprecedented sharp increase of monthly offshore income from RM10,000 to RM40,000 per month, yet requires MM2H holders to have a minimum stay of 90 days = three months a year in Malaysia. Thus, it makes it more like immigration supervision than just holding a long-stay vacation visa. As a result, it is only making it hard to apply but easy to cancel.
The new rules for MM2H will put off foreign investors. Plus, the constant shift of goalposts has severely tarnished our reputation and credibility of the country.
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The MM2H program was introduced in 2002, after 19 years of unchanged policies, we understand the need to review the qualifying process for the new applicants as time goes by, as some requirements might be outdated. Still, it has to be carried out gradually and sophisticatedly, and most importantly, the new policy should not affect the existing MM2H holders. They have already settled and lived here for many years, for them Malaysia is more than a country but a place they called HOME.
Letter from TUNKU HALIM, Petaling Jaya.