KOTA KINABALU: The Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) on Saturday welcomed and supported the agreement reached between the federal and Sabah state governments, for Sabah to implement its own Sabah Malaysia My Second Home (Sabah-MM2H) programme with immediate effect.
Its President Tan Sri T.C Goh hopes that this long-anticipated plan can be fully implemented to accelerate development in various sectors in Sabah.
He also suggested that the Sabah state government inject more “Sabah characteristics” into this plan, while cooperating with the federal government, to ensure a win-win situation.
Goh, who is also President of the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) expressed this supporting the announcement of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing on Friday, that the federal government has decided to empower the Sabah state government to implement the “Sabah-Malaysia My Second Home Program” through his department, latest by next week. Goh also expressed his support for the in-depth exchanges between Tiong and Sabah Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Christina Liew, to find the best solution for this plan.
He also supported Liew’s statement that the federal and Sabah governments had reached a consensus on the management procedures of the plan, allowing Sabah to set its version of the Second Home Program, including its terms and conditions, handling of applications, and issuance of passes to participants.
He was convinced that once fully empowered, the “Sabah-Malaysia My Second Home Program” would attract more foreign citizens to reside in Sabah.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Goh, who is also a member of the Sabah Economic Advisory Council (SEAC), was also convinced that despite some misunderstandings previously, with sincere discussion and coordination, the federal and Sabah governments, as well as Sarawak, can achieve a “triple win” under this latest plan.
He agreed that Sabah and Sarawak could set and implement their versions of the Second Home Program, according to their respective conditions, in cooperation and coordination with the federal government, to achieve a win-win outcome.
He cited for example that the property market and prices in East Malaysia differ from (the higher) ones in West Malaysia. Therefore, the conditions for Second Home participants to own homes should be more flexible based on regional property market prices and demand, which would be the best approach.
He also hopes that the government will strictly regulate the appointment or authorization of agents for this plan, to ensure adherence to government policies and codes of conduct’ This is to prevent any bad apples from abusing this channel to introduce unqualified participants, or charge unreasonable additional fees, as what transpired in the past.
He acknowledged that, whether in Sabah, Sarawak, or nationwide, especially after the pandemic, there is a need to attract high-quality and qualified foreign citizens, including the ever-enthusiastic Chinese citizens, to participate in the Second Home Program, to help boost the economic and consumer markets in Malaysia, and to accelerate the post-pandemic economic recovery.
“The framework, terms and conditions for the application of the new Second Home Program need to be jointly discussed and agreed upon by the federal and Sabah and Sarawak governments to achieve a “triple win.”
“This would not only promote the Second Home Program in East and West Malaysia, but also provide greater confidence and assurance to foreign citizens participating in the program, besides enhancing Malaysia’s international image as an ideal destination for Second Home,” he concluded.-pr/BNN
