KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 — The Home Ministry has not justified its review of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) scheme, said DAP lawmaker Hannah Yeoh.

Yeoh said there was no data to show that the participants were "security threats” as Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin asserted in Parliament.

She also said the ministry should not penalise all MM2H participants over its claim that some were involved in crime.

"So, I want the home minister to tell everybody: out of all your applicants, how many of them in the last five years have been involved with crime in Malaysia and any charges made, because these are not secrets and are known to all ministries.

"So, take action on those cases but don’t generalise the entire programme,” she said during a joint press conference with Malaysia My Second Home Consultants Association (MM2HCA) and several MM2H representatives.

Balik Pulau MP Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, who was also present, suggested that the scheme be transferred back to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac).

The former deputy tourism minister said Malaysia could not afford to have foreign investors chased away by the new conditions of the scheme.

On August 11, the government announced that it would be restarting MM2H, beginning October, with changes to nine conditions.

Among them: participants need a fixed deposit of at least RM1 million and liquid assets of RM1.5 million instead of RM300,000-RM500,000 previously; monthly income of at least RM40,000 instead of RM10,000 previously; and stay in Malaysia a minimum of 90 days.

The increased financial requirements have been criticised as excessive, with critics including the Sultan of Johor urging the government to reconsider.