PETALING JAYA: Disclosure of financial obligations by foreign spouses who become company directors or shareholders soon after marriage should be among the reforms considered by the authorities, says an expert.
Assoc Prof Dr Mashitah Hamidi of Universiti Malaya (UM) said there should also be greater coordination between the Immigration Department, Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) and National Registration Department when a marriage or business relationship breaks down.
A financial safety net or legal remedy for a Malaysian spouse left with joint business debt after a foreign partner exits the country is also crucial, she said.
Mashitah, who heads UM’s Malaysian Population and Migrant Research Centre, said Malaysia must avoid policy responses that make it harder for genuinely married foreign spouses to rent an apartment, open a bank account or secure employment.
“It should be proportionately tied to risk indicators, not nationality, duration of residence or blanket suspicion.
“Reforms should focus on the business-registration and financial-liability gap. For instance, this could involve requiring a short cooling-off or disclosure period before a foreign spouse can become a company director,” she said.
Mashitah called for a data-sharing protocol between SSM and the Immigration Department, particularly when a foreign spouse is listed as a director or major shareholder of a Malaysian company.
“This should be cross-checked against their pass status and marriage duration,” she said.
She said renewal interviews for the Long Term Social Visit Pass could also incorporate a short, standardised set of questions about businesses jointly operated by couples.
This could be modelled on relationship-verification interviews already used in some marriage-based immigration systems overseas, she said.
She said the Legal Aid Department and SSM could jointly develop a simplified pathway for cases where Malaysians unknowingly take on debt through a spouse’s departure.
“Malaysia can and should tighten the specific points where abuse occurs while continuing to support the much larger population of foreign spouses who are simply trying to build a life and, in many cases, a livelihood here,” she said.
Mashitah added that the gender dimension of such cases warranted further attention.
“Women should be asked whether they felt social or family pressure to extend financial trust faster than they otherwise would have – that pressure point, not the marriage itself, is often where the actual harm occurs,” she said.
