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The inaugural Malaysia My Second Home Agents Association (MM2HAA) Convention 2012 was recently held at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTiC) in Kuala Lumpur on 31 March. The event themed “Professionalism, The Successful Way Forward” was officiated by Dr Junaida Lee Abdullah, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Tourism Malaysia.
Dr Junaida stated that the MM2H program has managed to achieve 2,387 approved applications for the year 2011, an increase of 59% from the previous year which was 1,499 approvals. Dr Junaida reiterated the importance of MM2H licensed agents in achieving this success and said that the Ministry of Tourism will improve on service delivery and work to further assist the agents.
Jeremy Yeong, President of MM2HAA encourages agents to be proactive saying, “We are moving in the right direction,” going on to illustrate that Malaysia is now one of the top 18 countries for Americans to retire to, and ranks first for Japanese citizens. According to the 2011 Annual Global Retirement Index, Malaysia has improved its overall position as the top choice for long stay and retirement destination in Asia, moving to fourth place – above Thailand and Australia.
The event, held for MM2H agents, covered topics like new rules and regulation changes that will affect the agents as well as MM2H applicants. The MM2HAA Convention will be an annual platform for agents to keep updated with the latest and act as a forum for those involved with MM2H.
The Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program is an international residency scheme that entitles foreigners to live in Malaysia on a 10-year visa. This program, established by the government, allows benefits and incentives for applicants after meeting certain financial and medical criterions. Licensed MM2H companies are allowed to charge a maximum fee of RM10,000 per applicant, depending on services provided.