THE Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme has been suspended to review its application process, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri said today.

The review is being done by the ministry and the Immigration Department, and is to be completed by December.

She said the ministry “discovered that there is a lot to do to improve the MM2H programme”.

“It’s not a permanent (freeze) as some people think. It is not meant to be (permanent).

“The Immigration Department is re-looking their process and at the same time, Motac is involved in a study on improvements to the processes,” she told reporters after a visit to the songket and kringkam centre in Kuching this afternoon.

The Malaysian Insight reported earlier today that MM2H Agents Association president Lim Kok Sai said agents are in the dark over the reason for the freeze on applications.

Since September last year, about 90% of applications have also been rejected.

Lim at a press event today said the rejected applications were worth around RM776 million for the country.

Nancy said the freeze would not be long due to the MM2H programme’s importance to the economy. 

The programme, which allows foreign retirees to own homes and live in Malaysia, has earned the country RM40 billion since its inception in 2002.

The freeze however, does not apply to Sarawak.

Though Sarawak tailored its MM2H programme to mirror the national programme, the state’s autonomy over immigration and a different set of land laws means it can decide its own policies.

State Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Abdul Karim Hamzah said the National Land Code does not apply in the state and on the foreign retirees when they buy properties.

Karim, who today accompanied Nancy on her visits to Kuching’s tourist spots, said at the last state cabinet meeting, the state government had approved 224 applications. – July 2, 2020.