Malaysian tourism minister targeting UK buyers

The Malaysian tourism minister, Dr Ng Yen Yen, is targeting UK buyers to take part in the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program. The program gives foreigners who fulfil certain financial and other criteria a multiple-entry visa, allowing them to reside in Malaysia for 10 years.

OPP spoke to the minister at an event in London last week, organised by the Malaysian Tourism board. She said: We know that many Brits buy homes in Spain an France, and now with globalisation and the ease of travelling with low-cost budget airlines people are going further away, seeking more diverse cultures and a more interesting and exciting destination.

She added: Our linkage with the UK is so strong. You left us education and legal systems and the civil service, and we have utilised it to the maximum. It's always important to communicate easily, and English is very widely spoken in Malaysia. We have political stability tooandnbsp; our airports have never been closed, we achieved independence without a drop of blood, and have progressed tremendously.

OPP asked the minister which other countries were being targeted with the scheme other than the UK. She said: China is one and India is another with a big population that we are targeting. We want to attract a certain group of people, who can afford to live well, not necessarily luxuriously but comfortably. But the UK is always a frontrunner. I believe that the more awareness there is the more British will come.

The country is streamlining the application process for the Malaysia My Second Home Program, to make it easier and quicker. Dr Ng said: We're sharpening the Malaysian second home product to make it better and tidier. Five months is a long time for processing, we are now aiming for 3 months.

Previously, applicants needed to have £70k in liquid assets to qualify for the program, but this has been changed. In the past we didn't allow fixed assets to be used to qualify towards that amount. This year we decided to allow half of the value of your fixed assets to be used towards 50% of your liquid asset, so if you own a property worth over £100k you can use half of that towards it.She added: The UK is a very important market for us. We see the synergy, and the understanding of both countries relationships. We will continue to commit ourselves to the UK market.

Source = opp.org.uk