PETALING JAYA: The prime minister has been urged to adopt a more consultative approach on the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme and avoid being seen as continuing a “bad policy” of the previous government.
Political economist Firdausi Suffian of Sabah UiTM said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has already earned some goodwill by offering an olive branch to the opposition and reaching a political understanding with Pakatan Harapan on reforms.
“I feel he should listen to calls for the review of the new MM2H conditions which are restrictive and counterproductive to the government’s efforts to revive the economy,” said Firdausi.
The new conditions, introduced in the final days of the Perikatan Nasional government, has drawn flak from business groups, expatriates and even the Sultan of Johor.
Home minister Hamzah Zainudin had said that the new requirements would allow Malaysia to attract high-quality participants who could contribute positively to economic growth.
“But you can’t attract high quality expatriate residents by just raising the MM2H requirements,” said Firdausi. Malaysia would first have to attract high-value industries.
“Most of our economic activities centre around industries in the middle and low-value categories. So you must roll out reforms and incentives to make the country more appealing to high-value industries,” he said.
The more restrictive requirements would only discourage foreigners, including retirees, from settling down here and spending their money in the country.
Firdausi said it would not be in Ismail’s interest if this issue led his government to locking horns with the Johor Sultan and the business community especially since he does not have a large majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs also said Ismail would want to get this issue right, as his administration is still new and he does not enjoy a large majority.
It was okay to introduce the new MM2H requirements but these should only be applied to new applicants and not existing MM2H holders, he said.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/09/19/pm-must-tread-cautiously-on-mm2h-issue-says-analyst/