Abd Karim: MM2H programme will be further promoted to foreigners from four-season countries

KUCHING (Dec 13): Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme will be further promoted to foreigners who live in countries with four seasons.

He cited the ageing people from Holland and Nordic countries as good examples of MM2H participants because they would want to get away from the cold winter and turn to Malaysia for its warm climate.

“Apart from people who experience some problems and feeling insecure in their own countries, those from countries with four seasons will find the sun (in Malaysia) as heaven during the winter in their respective countries.

“Our climate does make people want to come here,” he said.

At the moment, he said, the surging the number of MM2H participants was due to those coming from Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the US.

He dismissed a claim that the surge of participation was due to Indonesians coming into Malaysia.

He was speaking at a press conference after officiating the Aramaz S-MM2H Service Centre Kuching today.

Located at Tun Jugah Complex, the Aramaz S-MM2H Service Centre was set up to facilitate foreigners who are interested in the home ownership programme that offers Sarawak as their potential retirement destination in this region.

The centre will also disseminate relevant information that will promote Sarawak among the targeted tourists coming into the South East Asia region.

The location of this service centre is also ideal as it is strategically located at Kuching’s golden triangle, which is surrounded by prominent buildings, hotels, and the beautiful Kuching Waterfront.

Abdul Karim, who is also Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, said he was confident that Aramaz would serve as an effective information hub in promoting the on-going state tourism programmes.

“Sarawak Government through the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts has always welcomed the support and collaboration from the private sector in ensuring the success of the various tourism programmes,” he said.

The MM2H programme was introduced by the federal government in an effort to boost Malaysia’s position as the competitive destination for the targeted groups of tourists from abroad.

The programme was aimed at boosting Malaysia’s destination ranking, enabling it to attract more participants.

MM2H will also broaden the country’s appeal, he said.