Nazri said the immigration department used to reject some applications “without providing any reason” when the programme was previously under the tourism ministry and the applications had been vetted and approved by the ministry.
“If we had this problem when the MM2H programme was under the tourism ministry, what more when the programme is placed under the immigration department? I think many more applications will be rejected by the department,” he said during the Dewan Rakyat debate on the 12th Malaysia Plan.
“We should not think that every foreigner who wants to stay in our nation wants to commit an offence that can threaten our country. Of the over 57,000 people enrolled in the MM2H programme, not even one person has been suspected or charged for being a threat to the nation,” he said.
Nazri, who is the MP for Padang Rengas, is also a former law minister.
He said the MM2H programme had contributed more than RM37 billion to the economy since its inception in 2002 to 2019, adding that it was estimated to contribute about RM4 billion annually.
“So I don’t understand why such an important sector that contributes RM4 billion annually to the economy is being changed and placed under the home ministry.”
He also said he was informed that individuals who wanted to renew their passes would be asked by immigration authorities why they wanted to extend their stay – a ridiculous question, he said, as some pass holders had already been staying in Malaysia for nearly 20 years.
He pointed out that Malaysia was among the top nations for foreigners to retire in, and even the top five among Americans, next to Panama, Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia.
“I just want to ask the government not to make things difficult for people who have come to the country after we called them to take part in the MM2H programme.
Malaysia isn’t the only country that people want to retire in. There’s Indonesia and Thailand too. If they’re not happy with the new rules and decide to sell their belongings, withdraw their deposits and relocate, we will lose billions which will be taken out of Malaysia and into another country.
“Only reject applicants when there is factual evidence that they’re a threat to the nation,” he told the home ministry.