Tourism Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing has taken aim at Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew over her criticisms of the handing of Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme.
He said in a Facebook post that when the MM2H programme was a hot topic, he should clarify that despite several invitations, Liew did not turn up to discuss the application of MM2H in Sabah.
“Not only did the minister not attend the meetings, she did not even delegate a single representative to the table to understand the situation.
“This is disappointing, to say the least.
“In fact, upon some basic checks, since assuming her ministerial post, Liew has rarely attended meetings convened by the federal Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry,” said Tiong (above).
He claimed that Liew’s criticisms of the policy implementation stemmed from her refusal to attend the meetings so that she could understand the programme details related to agent registration.
‘Unnecessary delay’
Earlier, Liew said Sabah was determined to go ahead with its own state MM2H programme and said there was no contradiction with national policy after Putrajaya suspended the operations of all licensed agents handling it.
“It will not contravene laws. We met with immigration, police, and all relevant authorities and we are ready. My programme is being delayed unnecessarily and we will lose out to other countries around Southeast Asia who are very interested,” she said.
She further claimed that the problem arose on May 27, a few days before the planned rollout on June 1, when the federal ministry cancelled all MM2H licensed agents until further notice, leaving Sabah scrambling.
Tiong said Liew had failed to take the necessary steps to fully grasp the entire policy.
“I have repeatedly called on Liew to address tourism issues in Sabah but issues discussed beforehand have not been resolved.
“If basic tasks are not handled well, how can we attract foreign visitors to boost the tourism industry,” he added.
Tiong said he has had to meet with Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Hajiji Noor to discuss tourism safety issues within the state.
“I regret that many unresolved tourism issues entrusted to Liew have not been resolved.
“Is the minister in her own world and oblivious to crucial matters? I advise Liew as the state minister for tourism not to rush into criticism but rather focus on addressing the issues of tourism safety first.
“I have repeatedly explained in the cabinet that existing agents of MM2H must re-register themselves to address the prevailing problems of agents subleasing their permits or disappearing with collected agency fees,” he said.
Adhere to transparency
Tiong stressed that the renewal of MM2H visas is unrelated to agent permits.
“However, we want MM2H agents to strictly adhere to transparency including collecting fees for applications once they are successfully approved.
“The MM2H agent permits in Malaysia must be reapplied with the ministry after the latest regulations are released (or gazetted). Renewal of permits is only approved for those who qualify under the new regulations,” he said.
Tiong said he had informed the cabinet that authority in this matter would be delegated to Sabah and Sarawak and would meet the state government leaders over the matter.
“The ministry and other related parties have spent much time and effort drafting policies for the MM2H programme which comes with many repercussions so arbitrary actions cannot be taken.
“Liew must meet with the ministry to fully understand the situation and review issues that could lead to abuses of power,” he said.
Malaysiakini has reached out to Liew for a response to Tiong’s claims. - Mkini
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