The new rules for Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme annouced in August 2021 were out of touch with reality. Under the new rules, foreigners must earn an offshore income of RM40,000 every month (US$9,630 / HK$74,865) and place a fixed deposit of one million ringgit with a local bank, although half of the sum can be withdrawn to purchase a local property and pay for education expenses.
Harsh regulations? More to come, mate. For you to enjoy a full or semi retirement in Malaysia, a country famous for its relaxing lifestyle, even if you can afford to meet the much higher financial criteria of MM2H, in future you will need to worry about visa extension every five years. Previously approved for ten years at each renewal, the visa would only approve a five-year stay.
Here comes the problem. Would foreigners only consider Malaysia, if they are so rich? Wouldn’t they think about another country?
But of course, Malaysia actually has its own attractions. For foreigners from English-speaking countries, most Malaysians are able to speak English and the weather is good. Coupled with the rich multicultural environment, foreigners can enjoy good life when they relocate to Malaysia.
For foreigners, the quality of life enjoyed in Malaysia with relatively affordable prices would cost a lot more in advanced economies. For example, car park slots are included if you buy or rent an apartment. Pay the monthly management fee and use the facilities of gym room and swimming pool. Pay 100-plus ringgit and you can rent a parking slot at an office building. These perks are also available in Hong Kong—provided that you pay tens of thousand of HKD every month. And mind you, you might need to walk a long distance before taking your car.
Speaking of cheaper cost but fairly comfortable quality of life, only Thailand comes to mind. Bangkok might not be the no.1 choice, but it is worthwhile to consider Chiangmai.
What troubles English-speaking individuals is that for many years they have been living in Malaysia, the only place where they call home. They have many friends from the local English-speaking communities. But Malaysian government’s unthoughtful new MM2H rules would disrupt their plans. Not all individuals are able to relocate to a new place and have new friends fairly quickly and adapt to new lifestyle in a relaxing manner.
It is impossible to execute stringent rules and still hope for foreign capital and investment to help revive the Malaysian economy. To put it simply, no country / territory in the world is able to achieve prosperity behind closed door.
Individuals who paid attention to these new MM2H rules have warned that new criteria would push away foreigners who have once thought of relocating to Malaysia. In future, we might be driving even more foreigners away, because few would still want to reside in Malaysia even if they are able to meet the criteria.
Such warnings should serve as a reminder for the Malaysian government.
2021年8月公佈的馬來西亞第二家園新規則實在是非常離地。原來在新規定之下，外籍人士若要在大馬定居，每個月的海外收入必須是馬幣四萬令吉（美金9,630元／港幣74.865元），另外固定存放在本地銀行的定期存款必須達到一百萬令吉，但有一半可以提領作為置產或孩子教育用途。
苛刻條件又何止這些。閣下若退休／半退休想要移居大馬過上悠閒生活，即便應付得了這些財政條件，卻需要每五年擔心簽證延長的問題，因為過往每十年更新一次的簽證必須每過五年就申請更新。
好了，問題來了。外國人真有這麼多錢，直接移居其他國家就好了，何須苦苦單戀馬來西亞？當然，馬來西亞確實有其吸引力。對於英語系地區人士來說，大馬人大多能說英語，加上氣候宜人、多元文化優勢，從英美移居過來大馬確實可以過上很不錯的生活。
對外國人來說，以馬來西亞的相對偏低消費可以享受到的生活質素，在先進經濟體都必須付上比較高的代價才能享受到。例如租樓／買樓附送車位，每月繳交管理費就可使用健身房和游泳池，在辦公大樓租車位每個月也祇是百多令吉，這些便利在香港隨便都叫價幾萬港幣而且還要步行很遠才到達停車位。
若說消費廉宜但又能享受差不多的生活質素，我唯一想到的就是泰國。曼谷未必是首選，但清邁絕對值得考慮。現在很困擾英語人士的是，他們在大馬定居多年而且這裡就是他們唯一的家園，他們在這裡有很多朋友來自廣大的本地人英語社群，但是大馬政府隨意更動規則就足以打亂他們的生活規劃。不是每個人去到新地方都有新朋友而且可以隨時適應自如。
總不可能把條件訂得苛刻同時又希望外國資金協助振興大馬經濟，世上沒有國家／地區可以一邊關起大門又期望經濟蓬勃。關心這則新聞的人士已經說明，新規則一旦落實，我們可能趕走已經以大馬為家的外國人，另外還要將考慮過來的外籍人士推得更遠，因為可以符合新條件而還想要住在大馬的外國人，可能真的不多。馬來西亞政府還是從這場夢中趕快醒過來吧。