KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is opting to take an alternative step to go ahead with the Sabah-Malaysia My Second Home (Sabah-MM2H) programme.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew said Sabah cannot afford to delay the launch of the programme, which was supposed to be on June 1, 2024.
"We have been preparing for this programme since last year. Then, we were asked to stop everything," said Liew after launching the three-day International Wholistic Wellness Conference and Expo (IWWCE) at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here.
A circular dated May 27, 2024, by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) has been issued to all licensed agents handling the MM2H applications, including those in Sabah and Sarawak, to stop their operations.
However, Liew said they will be appealing to Motac to let them review the programme.
"As far as Sabah is concerned, we are prepared to comply with Motac's conditions. But if we have no other choices, then we will proceed with an alternative," said Liew.
She said the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry will appoint qualified representatives to help with the application process.
She added that the ministry had engaged with relevant departments and agencies such as the Immigration department, police, and other authorities to ensure the smooth flow of applications.
She said the call to stop the Sabah-MM2H programme was the prerogative of Motac because they are the authority to issue a tourism licence.
"Since we're all ready and other countries around Southeast Asia also have their programmes, they will lure the applicants to their countries instead of coming to Sabah," said Liew.
Liew said she had informed the relevant authorities, Motac, and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor about Sabah's alternative.
"So we're now still preparing. Hopefully, within these few days or next week, we will get approval from Motac.
"But if they still don't approve our reviewed programme, then we have no choice but to proceed with it," said Liew.