THERE is nothing to prove that the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme had posed national security issues since its implementation in 2002, said the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
“The matter is confirmed by the Immigration Department (JIM) itself,” its chairman Wong Kah Woh stressed in a statement.
On August 11, the Government announced that it would be restarting MM2H in October, albeit with changes to nine conditions.
Among them: participants need a fixed deposit of at least RM1 mil and liquid assets of RM1.5 mil instead of RM300,000-RM500,000 previously; monthly income of at least RM40,000 instead of RM10,000 previously; and stay in Malaysia a minimum of 90 days.
The revision incurred brickbats from many politicians and industry players, with Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar Shah himself saying the conditions were excessive and urged the Government to reconsider it.
In Sept, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin defended the revision for the sake of national security.
He claimed that some were using MM2H programme as a “transit” to carry out unwanted activities in the country.
Following the controversy, PAC conducted three proceedings to study the matter, which was conduced on Nov 24, Dec 1 and Dec 2.
The Parliamentary oversight body had called the following officials to get to the bottom of the matter, who were:
- Auditor-General of Malaysia, Datuk Nik Azman Nik Abdul Majid
- Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry chief secretary Datuk Noor Zari Hamat
- MM2H Consultants Association chairman Anthony Liew Yong Huat
- Home Ministry’s deputy chief secretary (Policy and Control) Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa
- Immigration Department director general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud
On that note, PAC acknowledged that it found the programme was plagued with several issues and urged the Government to act on it immediately.
Among the problems found were:
- The data and documentation of MM2H participants were not recorded systematically, leading towards lack of oversight over their activities such as expenditure and asset ownership.
- No proper record on the worth of the total assets owned by MM2H participants. Their land ownership are only recorded if the purchase were made using fixed deposit monies, as per the condition of the programme.
- There is no proper documentation on how many participants have applied for extension after the first 10 years period have ended. JIM could not provide record to differentiate between new applications and extensions, with no remedial measures taken.
- There are different interpretations between the Auditor-General’s Office and Home Ministry when it came participants’ children age limit that could be registered under their support.
However, PAC noted that the new criteria set by the Home Ministry would not be applicable on existing participants, provided they pay the RM500 processing fee as stipulated.
“And we found that stakeholders’ engagement was minimal before the new conditions were set. Nevertheless, it is of our view that MM2H is a good programme which can contribute to the nation’s coffers and boost our tourism, education and hotel industries,” Wong concluded. – Dec 16, 2021.
