SIBU, April 20 — Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry is currently vetting and regulating the agents of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme in detail for the benefit of all parties, said Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

The minister said this in clarifying news reports that agents for the MM2H programme were unable to renew their business licences after they expired on March 31.

"For information, the Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture (Motac) has been given responsibility for promoting and marketing the MM2H programme.

"At the same time, Motac is currently examining and regulating the agents of this programme in detail for the benefit of all parties.

"It is emphasised that all agents need to re-register their businesses through the channels provided according to the set conditions. This includes agents whose licences have expired and need to reapply for registration.

"All of these need to go through a review process and approval will be given if the application is made in accordance with the necessary conditions,” he said in his Facebook post.

Tiong pointed out this was because Motac had received many complaints from applicants, who participated in the MM2H programme.

"Undeniably, there are also some agents who charge high fees up to tens of thousands of ringgit on their customers.

"But that does not mean that their application is guaranteed to pass. This is because every application has to go through the same process and approval is only given if it complies with the necessary conditions.

"If the application process fails, then those who bear the loss and are affected, are the applicants themselves, who are the clients of the agent.”

Tiong pointed out that that was why some customers or potential participants of the MM2H programme felt that they had been cheated by their respective agents.

Eventually, the agent lost contact with the customer and the customer had no other way to get back the payment that had been made, he noted, adding that indirectly, this situation gave a negative perception of the country.

"Not only that, during the process of approving residence visa documents for this MM2H programme, Motac managed to detect a number of agents who leased or rented their licences to other parties.

"After investigation, it was found that the ‘agent’ or ‘company’ concerned has no office or no valid company phone number.”

Tiong advised MM2H Consultants Association president Anthony Liew not to politicise this matter, or try to confuse the public with inaccurate assumptions.

He explained that the MM2H programme participant visa renewal has nothing to do with MM2H agent licence, as they are two different things.

"For holders of MM2H passes that have expired, they can continue to deal at the Motac one-stop centre to renew it.

"I have also instructed the department under Motac to help applicants renew participant passes during this transition period, so there are no problems such as not being able to renew passes and so on,” he said.

Currently, any application can only be charged after approval is granted, added Tiong.

He said the agents who manage this process are certainly aware of the regulations and conditions that are officially issued and implemented strictly.

"Those who wish to apply to be agents of the MM2H programme must comply with it to make the programme run transparently and efficiently.

"We do not intend to trouble anyone, but what we do is simply because we want to protect all parties. What we wonder — why are there a few agents who refuse to re-register their business licence?”

In view of this, Tiong said: "As far as I know, even though the latest rules and standards have not been officially released, there are still a few parties who are still stubborn and use the old application form of the MM2H programme to trick applicants into paying fees and submitting applications. To this irresponsible party, please stop this wrongdoing.”

He reiterated that MM2H programme agents need to wait for the latest regulations before resubmitting application and registering with Motac.

He said obtaining certification is subject to regulatory oversight and compliance with required conditions.

and play a role, then the process of reforming the system becomes smoother, the rights and interests of all parties can be protected and thus create effectiveness.

"Most importantly, the country’s reputation must be restored and the international community’s confidence in MM2H restored.” — The Borneo Post