Big potential change to Sarawak MM2H

It seems that the best place to keep abreast of developments is the Sarawak My Second Home Group:

facebook.com/groups/168068210798651?mibextid=6NoCDW

Lots of people posting there on this topic. It's a public group so you don't have to join Facebook to read it.

Yes, I've discussed the issue extensively on that "Sarawak My Second Home Group" on Facebook (which I host/moderate). It's a sort of "wait and see" situation given that the regulation was issued by the previous government in the week or two bounding the last election. It doesn't seem to have been approved at the Cabinet level. but was simply "ordered" by then Home Minister Hamza Saifuddin. This is the same Hamzah Saifuddin who placed all the onerous requirements on MM2H applicants, and has had an open feud with Sarawak MM2H over its less restrictive requirements. Hamzah Saifuddin  is now the leader of the opposition after a leadership fight with the former PN Prime Minister, Muyhuddin.

A new "Unity Government" was formed when the opposition Pakistan Harapan coalition won the most seats but just fell short of a majority. When Sarawak (GPS) and Sabah MP's joined with PH there was more than enough to form a government under a new Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim.

The Sarawak Minister of Tourism SMM2H has openly stated that one of the benefits of SMM2H is its affordability and the ability to live anywhere in Malaysia. Sarawak Tourism was gobsmacked that Immigration had added these new clauses regarding mandatory residence in Sarawak into the Letter of Conditional Approval. They have argued that the Malaysia 1963 Agreement that created Malaysia specifically gave autonomy to Sarawak in both Immigration and Tourism matters.

Were the new regulations issued prior to Sarawak and Sabah jumping ship and joining PH? If so it would have been a major blunder on Hamza's part as it clearly was an act contrary to the spirit and letter of MA63. That would have driven Sarawak and Sabah directly into the hands of Pakistan Harapan. Stupid. But if it occurred AFTER the GPS-Sarawak and the coalition government of Sabah had decided to join PH then it can only be seen as an act of spite. But one should not expect Sarawak and Sabah to willingly unite in the future with PN-Hamzah's Bersatu (which has collapsed in Sabah), UMNO, and PAS.

Now the election has resulted in some major shake ups at the Federal level that gives hope that not only will this result in a removal of the offending restriction in the SMM2H Letter of Conditional Approval but also returning to a more accessible and reasonable MM2H. The new Minister of Tourism is from Sarawak and has previously (as a MP) supported Sarawak and Sabah having an autonomous MM2H. The former Sarawakian Min ofTourism, Nancy Shukri, has moved on to another Ministry but supports SMM2H and seems to have had issues with Hamzah taking MM2H from her portfolio and creating new regulations. Several critics of Hamzah's MM2H changes in the former Parliament (e.g. Hannah Yeoh) are also now in the Cabinet as Ministers or Deputy Ministers. Even more are insistent on the protection of Sarawak and Sabah's MA63 rights.

So my advice is to hold on for a few months because both MM2H and SMM2H may expect changes favourable to new applicants because any review of the more extreme MM2H and such schemes as the Premium VIP-MM2H aren't successful in attracting applications or in generating income for Malaysia. Showing that his schemes were failures also is in their interest in countering Hamzah as a successful administrator and showing him as antagonistic to the MA63 rights of Sarawak and Sabah. Thus, IMO, there should be some favourable revisions proposed in the next few months.

@cinnamonape Thanks for the very useful summary of the possibilities. Fingers crossed.

Yes, I'm taking a wait and see attitude. Even though I planned to retire to Malaysia in mid-2023, I'm not in a huge hurry and prefer to get clarity (as much as possible) before making final plans. It seems reasonable that the new government would review the performance of MM2H and adjust the requirements to make it more successful as improving the economy, including tourism and real estate investment, is a high priority. I also wonder if it's possible to take advantage of the 90-day social visit pass and simply divide one's time between Peninsular Malaysia and either Sarawak or Sabah, alternating between these regions every 3 months?