The tourism, arts and culture ministry recently announced new requirements for the application for the MM2H programme in hope of wooing more high net worth foreigners to stay here and stimulate our post-pandemic recovery.

The three-tier Platinum, Gold and Silver categories provide greater versatility for applicants, and are another major relaxation following the introduction of 30-day visa-free entry for visitors from China and India.

No doubt the country now requires a massive impetus to start the economy rolling again. However, due to the sheer size of our population, we cannot wholly rely on the domestic market to revitalise the market.

Besides luring more investments and businesses here, tourism and the MM2H programme are additional channels that will help expedite economic recovery.

The MM2H programme has helped bring in tens of billions of ringgit worth in economic spin-off for the country since its introduction in 2002.

Do bear in mind that individuals residing here under the MM2H programme are all high net worth individuals with strong consumption power. They not only buy up real estate and vehicles, but also spend on food and entertainment, among others.

Statistics show that between 2002 and 2019, the programme generated as much as RM11.89 billion for the country’s economy.

The programme was stalled in 2020 as a consequence of the global coronavirus pandemic. With the situation improving in 2021, the government announced the reinstatement of the programme in October that year, but with tightened conditions and requirements, including shorter validity of five years, higher liquid assets and fixed deposit amounts, increased monthly offshore income to RM40,000, in addition to a minimum of 90-day stay in Malaysia each year.

Many applicants were turned away because of the harsh requirements.

The impact of the revised requirements is evidenced in the numbers: some 3,900 people applied for MM2H in 2019, but only about 2,000 did so last year, with only 375 successful applicants.

MM2H can be a booster to the country’s economic recovery, and has absolutely nothing to do with politics.

MM2H is not a “proprietary product” of Malaysia, as other regional countries such as Thailand and Indonesia are also offering similar packages to woo potential new residents.

How are we going to compete with Thailand and Indonesia if we set the bar so prohibitively high? They can always go elsewhere!

Fortunately, the Unity Government has come up with a new edition offering a much lower threshold for applicants, including only RM500,000 fixed deposit requirement for the Silver tier, down from the existing RM1 million.

Besides, the 90-day minimum stay requirement is relaxed to only 60 days, giving these foreign residents more flexibility in planning their stays.

The new edition has generally won the public thumbs-up, and should help bring in more revenue for the country, if it is put into proper implementation.

Unfortunately, just as the whole country is working very hard to try to bring back past prosperity, some politicians are maliciously linking the MM2H programme to the issue of permanent residence for Chinese applicants.

Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing has clarified and slammed Bersatu’s Masjid Tanah MP Mas Ermieyati for misguiding the public and disseminating baseless and false information by racialising MM2H.

MM2H can be a booster to the country’s economic recovery and has absolutely nothing to do with politics. Politicians must refrain from politicising everything and distorting facts in an attempt to accumulate political capital for themselves, which will not do the country any good.

Sure enough opposition representatives have every right to supervise the government and criticise the inadequacies of MM2h, but this must be done only based on facts!