This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 16, 2021 - August 22, 2021

A revision to the terms and conditions of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme was widely anticipated — in fact, it was welcomed as long as it was quickly put back on track — but its participants and consultants were not expecting the changes to be so drastic.

On Aug 11, the Home Ministry announced that MM2H, which has been suspended since last August in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, will resume in October.

However, the significant hike in the financial requirements for both applicants and existing participants came as a shock. For example, the offshore income applicants are now required to have has quadrupled to at least RM40,000 a month from the previous RM10,000. Also raised is the amount that they need to hold in a Malaysian fixed deposit account for a year, which is now RM1 million, from the previous RM150,000 to RM300,000.

That’s not all. There is now a RM5,000 processing fee for the principal and RM2,500 for each dependant. Another blow for applicants is the halving of the duration of the MM2H programme’s long-term social visit pass to five years, from 10 previously.

What most found unfair was the fact that the new ruling also applies to existing participants whose passes have ended or will end.

While it is understandable that the government wants to attract participants of real quality to retire in Malaysia, drastic changes such as these will drive them away. Already, some existing participants are considering moving back to their home country.

We really have to ask ourselves if we are serious about wanting foreigners to make Malaysia their second home. We simply cannot formulate policies based on whims and fancies. After all, silver-hair programmes are not unique to Malaysia.

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