MM2H News: RM20,000 per month enough or not?
New MM2H requirements are affecting the number of applications
Yes, it has affected even if at the same time, the number of approved applications remain very high. Here’s that earlier information from our Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing Read here: Nearly 90% of MM2H applications are approved. Now there’s another suggestion and this one is not like some which has asked for a total revert to the previous requirements. This one says, ‘Let’s go halfway…’ Who said it and what was it exactly? Read on.
Article in freemalaysiatoday.com Gideon Yap who is the managing director of a relocation agency says that the government should make the MM2H programme more affordable. Thus, the government should reduce the threshold from RM40,000 monthly income to half; RM20,000 monthly income. He said that the new requirement has affected his agency badly. This new requirement has made the total applications drop by 90 percent.
Meanwhile, Donal Crotty, chairman of the Irish Chamber of Commerce Malaysia, hoped that the government would revert to the programme’s original conditions. He said, “Rather than having piecemeal changes to the individual elements of what are visa programmes, have a series of programmes and see how they fit together.” Do read here for the full article: Article in freemalaysiatoday.com
If you ask me, it’s enough for most people lah
If I am a retiree, I certainly do not need to drive any fancy car. I mean, who do I want to show off to? My peers? Who are also in their 60s? Hahaha. In fact anyone above the age of 60 just need a typical common car. Can be a Vios, can be a City or perhaps even the currently talked about Proton S70. I do think all three are below RM90,000 for the standard version yeah. We will see. Oh yeah, what’s the typical monthly payment if the car price is RM85,000? Below’s the number for a car.
In other words, RM20,000 minus RM1,500 = RM18,500.
What about a typical property prices then? Let’s say they prefer to stay in Penang? We assume they buy a typical RM1,000,000 property yeah, a full facility condo.
RM20,000 minus RM1,500 (car) minues RM5,062 (property) means this person has RM13,438 remaining for the expenses for the whole month. Let’s assume the person uses half for travelling around and remaining half for food. That’s RM13,438 divided by 2. For food, this person will have RM6,719 per month of RM224 per day! Erm… I think it’s realistically sufficient yeah.
Conclusion?
Yes, I think I can agree with the suggestion from Gideon Yap which is to half the requirement of RM40,000 threshold down to RM20,000. This does two things. One, it makes the requirement high enough and not too low that we attract too many applicants and second, it’s low enough that we can still attract many potential MM2H applicants. I think it’s considered a win-win suggestion lah. By the way, I do not own a MM2H agency yeah. I also don’t know Gideon. If you like to engage him, please go online and find his contact number yeah. Cheers.
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2 Responses
RM20,000 is certainly better than RM40,000. But for many, the rather large RM1,000,000 deposit is unreasonable, since it is a depreciating asset that could otherwise be invested elsewhere, earning money. Also, most MM2H transplants see Malaysia as their first home, and would like assurances that the government won’t pull the rug out from under them sometime in the future, on the whim of some cranky politician. Trust is important, and a lot of it was lost in the past few years.
Yes, agree. Policies must have continuity and must not be changed without a clear and strong reasons for the change. Cannot be just words alone.