The Vibes / 14 Sept 2021
Minister puts foot down, says no changes to stricter MM2H rules
Tightening requirements for programme done in the best interest of the country,
says Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin
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
No comments:
Post a Comment