KUALA LUMPUR – The government will not review the new and more stringent conditions under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme to ensure those who participate can truly contribute to the economy, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, however, said the government will consider some flexibilities for existing MM2H holders.
Responding to a question from Wong Hon Wai (Bukit Bendera-PH), Hamzah said the government’s decision to tighten the requirements for the programme was done in the best interest of the country.
“We want to ensure that those who are qualified for the initiative are truly genuine, of high quality, and can positively impact the economy,” he said in Parliament today.
Wong had asked if the government would consider reviewing the new conditions imposed on MM2H, which he said has been criticised by the community as well as economic players.
This is in reference to Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz’s announcement on August 11, stating that MM2H will be reintroduced with improvements to policies and application conditions so as to balance its security and economic aspects.
The programme, which ceased in 2019, is set for reactivation next month.
Among the changes include increasing applicants’ fixed deposit from RM300,000 to RM1 million; increased offshore income requirement from RM10,000 to RM40,000; requirement for RM1.5 million in liquid assets; and, a revised visa fee from RM90 to RM500 per year on top of a RM5,000 processing fee.
To this, Khalid Abdul Samad (Shah Alam-PH) quipped that “if criminals can bring in RM1 million, they will be ‘high quality’.”.
Hamzah said the decision to tighten the conditions is also because many existing MM2H holders have abused their privileges in the past by using Malaysia as a transit point for their criminal activities.
“They are conducting activities that may cause security issues. As such, our focus is to ensure safety. As for foreigners who genuinely want to help our economy, let them be of quality. What’s the problem with that?”
Additionally, Hamzah said the amendments had to be made as the original conditions were drafted back in 2002 when the programme was first introduced.
On why Sarawak has separate requirements imposed for their MM2H applicants, Hamzah said this is due to the powers given to the East Malaysian states under the Immigration Act.
“Regardless, I will discuss the matter with Sabah and Sarawak so that we can ensure their different requirements are imposed.”
Hamzah added that there are 34,000 MM2H principals, 27,894 participants and 6,343 “silver” participants, with total savings of RM921 million for local financial institutions as of 2019.
He said the two East Malaysia states have special immigration provisions under Section 64 and 65 of the Immigration Act. – The Vibes, September 14, 2021
Additional reporting by Jason Santos
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