Don’t just look to attract the super-rich, MP tells govt
With the regional competition for talent heating up, Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming says the government should introduce a digital nomad visa for remote and freelance workers.
PETALING JAYA: A DAP MP has urged Putrajaya to look towards attracting other groups of foreigners to live, work and invest in Malaysia instead of only the super-rich through the new premium visa programme (PVIP).
Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming said the government should work on attracting skilled foreign talent to work in Malaysia, calling for it to do away with red tape in recruiting highly skilled expatriates.
He pointed out that Singapore had launched the overseas network and expertise (ONE) pass for expatriates and their spouses, Indonesia had a programme targeting remote workers and freelancers, while Thailand had a 10-year visa for digital entrepreneurs.
“A digital nomad visa for remote and freelance workers should also be introduced as regional competition for global talent heats up.
Ong Kian Ming.
“Malaysia needs to get its act together in this area since we are a much more cost-effective place to operate from compared to Singapore, which is seeing huge increases in the cost of housing,” he said in a statement.
Ong also urged the government to rescind the new conditions for the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, since it has launched the PVIP.
With 1,461 people withdrawing from MM2H and only 267 new applicants from September 2021 to June, he said, the government might see more expatriates leaving than new ones coming under the PVIP if the new conditions are not lifted.
Last week, Putrajaya announced the PVIP for affluent individuals from all countries, except for those without diplomatic ties with Malaysia, with the home ministry confident the programme will draw “global tycoons” and boost foreign direct investment.
The MM2H programme, which promotes Malaysia as an international retirement destination, was frozen in 2020 and resumed in 2021 with conditions which stakeholders said would deter potential applicants.
Among them are an increase in an applicant’s compulsory fixed deposits in local banks from between RM150,000 and RM300,000 to RM1 million, and an increase in offshore monthly income from RM10,000 to RM40,000.
Applicants also need to have at least RM1.5 million in liquid assets, compared with between RM300,000 and RM500,000 previously.
Ong also reminded home minister Hamzah Zainudin that refugees living in Malaysia had the potential to become more productive members of the labour force and contribute to economic recovery.
“Many of the almost 200,000 refugees (according to UNHCR figures) are already working informally. But because they do not have any official status in the country, many of them are exploited at their workplaces,” he said.
He urged Hamzah to come up with a programme that would let them work legally in Malaysia, coupled with the protection other workers would have, rather than making them register under the Tracking Refugees Information System.
This programme must be a systematic programme for all refugees, he said, citing the failure of past pilot projects involving Rohingya and Syrian refugees.
PETALING JAYA: A DAP MP has urged Putrajaya to look towards attracting other groups of foreigners to live, work and invest in Malaysia instead of only the super-rich through the new premium visa programme (PVIP).
Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming said the government should work on attracting skilled foreign talent to work in Malaysia, calling for it to do away with red tape in recruiting highly skilled expatriates.
He pointed out that Singapore had launched the overseas network and expertise (ONE) pass for expatriates and their spouses, Indonesia had a programme targeting remote workers and freelancers, while Thailand had a 10-year visa for digital entrepreneurs.
“A digital nomad visa for remote and freelance workers should also be introduced as regional competition for global talent heats up.
Ong Kian Ming.“Malaysia needs to get its act together in this area since we are a much more cost-effective place to operate from compared to Singapore, which is seeing huge increases in the cost of housing,” he said in a statement.
Ong also urged the government to rescind the new conditions for the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, since it has launched the PVIP.
With 1,461 people withdrawing from MM2H and only 267 new applicants from September 2021 to June, he said, the government might see more expatriates leaving than new ones coming under the PVIP if the new conditions are not lifted.
Last week, Putrajaya announced the PVIP for affluent individuals from all countries, except for those without diplomatic ties with Malaysia, with the home ministry confident the programme will draw “global tycoons” and boost foreign direct investment.
The MM2H programme, which promotes Malaysia as an international retirement destination, was frozen in 2020 and resumed in 2021 with conditions which stakeholders said would deter potential applicants.
Among them are an increase in an applicant’s compulsory fixed deposits in local banks from between RM150,000 and RM300,000 to RM1 million, and an increase in offshore monthly income from RM10,000 to RM40,000.
Applicants also need to have at least RM1.5 million in liquid assets, compared with between RM300,000 and RM500,000 previously.
Ong also reminded home minister Hamzah Zainudin that refugees living in Malaysia had the potential to become more productive members of the labour force and contribute to economic recovery.
“Many of the almost 200,000 refugees (according to UNHCR figures) are already working informally. But because they do not have any official status in the country, many of them are exploited at their workplaces,” he said.
He urged Hamzah to come up with a programme that would let them work legally in Malaysia, coupled with the protection other workers would have, rather than making them register under the Tracking Refugees Information System.
This programme must be a systematic programme for all refugees, he said, citing the failure of past pilot projects involving Rohingya and Syrian refugees.
No comments:
Post a Comment