Report: MM2H ruined by unreasonable conditions

• Center for Market Education CEO, Carmelo Ferlito said the new conditions created a negative perception from the MM2H community, “signalling to them they were unwelcome if they did not earn enough”.

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 5): The imposition of “unreasonable conditions” ruined the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) scheme, FMT reported today.

Center for Market Education CEO, Carmelo Ferlito told the news portal that the new conditions created a negative perception from the MM2H community, “signalling to them they were unwelcome if they did not earn enough”.

“The measure has not only deterred existing participants but has also contributed to making Malaysia a less attractive destination for investments,” he said.

Previously, potential MM2H participants needed to show authorities they have savings of between RM300,000 and RM500,000. They now need to have permanent savings of at least RM1 million and declare liquid assets of at least RM1.5 million.

The new rules also require applicants to have an offshore income of at least RM40,000 a month. It used to be RM10,000.

Donal Crotty, chairman of the Irish Chamber of Commerce Malaysia, also weighed in on the issue, saying that MM2H was “originally built on trust, confidence and security, and the government’s policy changes were detrimental to the programme”.

“What tends to be forgotten is that confidence and trust not only affect MM2H members but the expat community as a whole and Malaysia’s reputation as a country to invest and live in.

“The sense is that there is no real commitment from the government as the programme is not about the people but the money,” he told FMT.

Meanwhile, MM2H Agents Association president Anthony Liew said the government’s policies were inconsistent and that some participants felt the authorities were “likely to backtrack or change the conditions on a whim”.

According to reports yesterday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin revealed in Parliament that were 267 new applications received by the Immigration Department for the MM2H programme between Sept 16, 2021 and June this year, while 1,461 participants have decided to pull out of the programme between September 2021 and June.

“The Home Ministry would like to dismiss claims that the withdrawal was due to the new terms imposed as existing MM2H participants are not subjected to the new rules except for those pertaining to the duration for new pass, processing fee and pass fee of RM500, which is imposed on the participants once their existing pass expires,” he said.

Hamzah added that factors such as the inability to commit to the programme, personal reasons and the Covid-19 pandemic, which had impacted participants' financial situations, are some of the reasons for the withdrawals.