KOTA KINABALU: It is now confirmed that Sabah has full authority over its own Malaysia My Second Home (Sabah-MM2H) programme.
This comes after Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew and federal Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing resolved their misunderstandings.
Liew met with Tiong in Kuala Lumpur to exchange views on managing the MM2H and discussed the Sabah-MM2H programme, among other matters.
“Tiong has agreed to empower Sabah with our foreign residency programme after our meeting,” she said in a statement on Friday (July 19).
“This means Sabah can establish its own terms and conditions for the Sabah-MM2H,” she said, adding that Sabah is allowed to process applications and issue the Sabah-MM2H pass to successful applicants.
Liew said that while the revised terms and regulations for new participants under the MM2H (Malaysia) programme would serve as guidelines, Sabah would not be bound by them.
She mentioned that Sabah would appoint its own committee to study the terms and conditions of the Sabah-MM2H programme, and her ministry would appoint representatives to handle participants’ applications.
During the meeting, Tiong also assured that the enforcement would be passed to Sabah so that the state could create its version, she said.
To facilitate the transition, existing MM2H companies previously licensed by federal ministry will need to obtain a special licence from the state ministry and comply with the Sabah-MM2H terms and conditions if they wish to switch to Sabah-MM2H.
Liew said the meeting with Tiong was productive as both parties clarified several terms and conditions for participation.
Over the past month, both ministries had engaged in arguments, with their ministers exchanging views on the implementation of the MM2H and Sabah-MM2H programmes.
The issue began when the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry issued a circular dated May 27 to all licensed agents handling MM2H applications, including those in Sabah and Sarawak, directing them to stop their operations.
The Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry then wrote to the federal ministry the following day, detailing its preparations to launch the Sabah-MM2H programme.
On May 31, the federal ministry replied, stating that no one is allowed to process new applications for Sabah-MM2H until further notice.
Liew criticised the move and stated that Sabah would proceed with the Sabah-MM2H with or without federal approval, leading Tiong to defend the action and blame Liew for not attending meetings on this programme.
Sabah proceeded with the launch of its Sabah-MM2H programme on June 30, with official applications opening on July 1.
On July 4, the federal ministry issued another statement saying it had never received and approved any criteria for the Sabah-MM2H programme, which was launched in the state.
It stated that the decision to launch Sabah-MM2H with the mentioned criteria was done without consultation.
