By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Oct 31: Sarawak’s 40 licensed agents for the Sarawak-Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H) programme must reapply for their permits as the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performance Arts (MTCP) will take over full authority from Kuala Lumpur on Jan 1, 2025.
Its minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah announced the update during a press conference on enhanced S-MM2H regulations, confirming that Kuala Lumpur will no longer issue permits, with MTCP now handling all licensing and new applications.
Abdul Karim emphasised that applicants may apply independently if sponsored by a local, but noted that working through an agency, with a maximum application fee of RM12,000, often proves more efficient.
As of August 2024, the S-MM2H programme has seen 386 approvals, with Fixed Deposits (FDs) totaling RM77.55 million placed in Sarawak banks.
“We give 100 per cent approval as these applications are already fully vetted by the MTCP panel committee for S-MM2H, and we want genuine applicants who complied with the checklists,” he said.
Notably, after implementing enhancements on Sept 1, 2020, Sept 1, 2022, and Aug 1, 2023, applications surged, with Sarawak approving 1,462 participants—compared to 1,240 approvals over the prior 13 years (2007-2019).
Abdul Karim shared that many applicants are former oil and gas industry workers familiar with Sarawak.
The top 10 countries participating in the programme are China, the UK, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and Indonesia, with an increase in participants from 441 in 2022 to 542 in 2023, contributing RM56.7 million in FDs. — DayakDaily
