Call it a "bipolar" condition or a "turf war" between two ministries, but their belligerence is derailing efforts to captivate wealthy expatriates through the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) 10-year visa renewable programme.
The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry ran the programme since MM2H's 2002 inception until its 2019 suspension, generating an eye-popping RM12 billion in visa fees, property and vehicle purchases, fixed deposits and monthly household expenditures.
That it's a puissant jolt on the Malaysian economy is an understatement. Then the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry reportedly went sideways by ushering heavily on unintended target expatriates — Chinese nationals and Bangladeshis — when the preferred persons were senior folk from the United Kingdom, Japan and Western European nations.
This was where the Home Ministry homed in, via the Special Branch, who viewed with concern the security issues linked to these nationals.
After two years of wrangling, the government again let the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry run the show, but with a difference: the prescription of enhanced, new prerequisites that exasperated current and would-be expatriates, and a new enforcer, the Home Ministry, which has the final say on applicant approval.
This new, security-conscious phase slowed down the application process, doubling its completion time from three to six months, to six to 12 months. The new rules include a 90-day annual stay, offshore income of RM40,000 a month, permanent savings of RM1 million and liquid assets of RM1.5 million.
This is crucial: expatriates don't mind if the new prerequisites affect only newcomers since they have the option of staying home or searching for better options.
The government agreed. But current expatriates fumed: they have invested not only time, money and tangible assets, but also their heart and soul into Malaysia that gifted a fulfilling and productive life here despite the burden foisted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Expatriates complained and warned that the heightened financial buy-ins were unbearable turn-offs. They floated the prospect that they and potential clients would move on to other, more generous countries.
They also think MM2H is set up to fail in light of new enticements: Bali is lobbying hard — stay and work in Indonesia for five to 10 years by possessing US$130,000 in their bank accounts.
Thailand, Costa Rica, Mexico and Portugal are also putting in tantalising carrots for these expatriates' attention.
So, will the government rethink its wooing strategy, especially in deflating the jacked-up financial charges? This is the expatriates' biggest beef, not the ponderous application process or security concerns.
A fine balance can be weighed here, between charging what is attractively reasonable and the truism that Malaysia is the Shangri-la to live out their twilight years.
Breathtaking mountainous rainforest, arrestingly idyllic sandy beaches, eclectic and exotic cuisine, familiar dishes from back home, tranquil surroundings, hospitable, multicultural English-speaking locals, low cost of living, a working democracy and a penchant for the rule of law.
These are the sweet points that convinced 50,000 well-heeled expatriates to spiritedly adopt MM2H for the past 20 years to make Malaysia their ideal sojourn. Just because they are wealthy, doesn't mean we should take the liberty to squeeze their high net worth.