KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today presented the first batch of the Residence Pass Talent (RP-T) and Digital Nomad passes for skilled migrant workers and strategic investors to reside and operate from Malaysia with ease.

The two categories of passes were part of the government’s efforts to streamline investments to Malaysia following the announcement of the Strategic Investor Pass (SIP) and Digital Nomad Professional Visit Pass announced on July 14, to improve the ease of doing business and facilitate both foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic direct investment (DDI) in Malaysia.

According to the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (Miti), the RP-T will grant strategic investors and their families free entry and residence in the country for up to 10 years.

The Digital Nomad Pass for the manufacturing sector will enable digitally or technically skilled foreign talents to stay in Malaysia with their spouses and dependents for up to two years. This will ride on the DE Rantau Digital Nomad Pass introduced in October 2022 by the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

"The key objective of the RP-T and DE Rantau Digital Nomad Pass is a part of the government’s holistic efforts to improve and strengthen the country’s investment landscape and ecosystem. This immediate measure is crucial for Malaysia to capitalize on multinationals’ current re-designing of their global supply chains, as they move away from cost-efficiency to supply chain security as part of their global risk diversification strategy,” Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said in a statement.

"Miti would like to thank all relevant government ministries and agencies that have helped support this immigration facilitation for the manufacturing sector which will certainly help attract quality high value investments and highly skilled professionals, as well as improve the competitiveness of the local workforce and stimulate digital entrepreneurship.”

The DE Rantau programme aims to establish Malaysia as the preferred digital nomad hub in Asean while boosting digital adoption and promoting digital professional mobility and tourism across the country.

According to MDEC’s website, the DE Rantau programme was made for the benefit of both local talents and foreign nomads via the creation of a vibrant ecosystem that supports digital nomads.

Digital nomads may travel and work remotely from various locations in Malaysia, while having access to stable broadband connectivity and various other facilities and services that support the nomadic lifestyle.

Tengku Zafrul said the introduction of these passes would hopefully further attract talent, investments and opportunities for international collaborations.

Malaysia managed to attract RM71.4 billion in approved investments during the first quarter of 2023. The services sector led other sectors with a value of RM53.6 billion, accounting for 75.1 per cent of the total approved investments.

This was followed by the information and communications sub-sector with approved investments valued at RM24.9 billion, representing a substantial 46.5 per cent share while the manufacturing sector attracted RM15.6 billion or 21.8 per cent of the total approved investments.