'If you don't want us, let us collect our things and leave' - MM2H couple stuck overseas

CORONAVIRUS | After being barred from entering the country since the start of the movement control order (MCO) on March 18, Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) visa holder Ratna Hartawan said if her family is not welcome in Malaysia, they do not mind moving away.

But she hopes that the authorities will at least let them return to their home in Johor Bahru, where the Indonesian family has lived since 2017, to collect their worldly belongings first.

“If Malaysia really does not want us to live in Malaysia, it is okay, we are self-conscious enough and will move away from Malaysia.

“But please let us return to pack our things from our house in Johor Bahru.

“We promise we will leave Malaysia and will no longer disturb the work of the government of Malaysia,” said Ratna in an email today to Immigration Department director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud which was sighted by Malaysiakini.

Malaysiakini had previously reported on the plight of Ratna, her husband and their 10-year-old daughter. They have been stuck in Thailand since March 18 with no access to their funds in Malaysia, as they do not have their ATM card with them.

Her 52-year-old husband also suffers from diabetes and hyperthyroidism, and they have been having difficulty procuring his medication.

At that time, Ratna had already written an email to the Immigration Department DG detailing her husband’s medical condition and pleading to be allowed back into Malaysia. However, the director-general had replied that their request cannot be considered until after the MCO is lifted.

With yesterday’s announcement by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin that the conditional MCO will be extended another four weeks up to June 9, Ratna hopes she and her family will be allowed to enter Malaysia after May 12, which was the initial date the conditional MCO was supposed to lift.

“We really would like to request that we are allowed to return after May 12. Everything we own is in our house in Johor Bahru.

“We have been living in dire straits, stranded in Thailand since March 18, for almost two months. We do not have living supplies here at all.

“This is an experience that is extremely traumatic for my 10-year-old daughter here,” she said in her second email to the DG today.

Ratna, who is 38 years old, said her family are not tourists in Malaysia and this is where they have made their home and where their daughter goes to school.

It makes them very sad that the MCO also barred MM2H visa holders like them from entering the country, she added.

“By not caring about our lives outside (the country) like this, sooner or later we will die, whether due to Covid-19 or other risks.

“We cannot access our money in the bank in Malaysia. How can we continue living our lives like this? Please think with your conscience. Ya Allah, have mercy on us please,” she pleaded in the email.

She also told Malaysiakini that they have also contacted the National Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) in another attempt to have their case heard and Suhakam has since agreed to look into this matter.

“This is Ramadan. Hope they (the government) are touched and able to let us come home due to our special conditions since all our belongings are in Johor Bahru,” Ratna said.

Ratna and her family are far from being the only MM2H visa holders affected by the MCO.

Malaysiakini also previously reported about an American couple, who are also MM2H visa holders, stranded in Thailand as well.

There is also a private Facebook group called "Expats/MM2H stranded overseas due to MCO in Malaysia", which has 349 members at the time of writing.

Ratna, who is part of the group, said another 130 more people are waiting for approval from the group’s administrator to join the group.

“There are different stories but with the same problems - sad, fed up and depressed,” she said.

The MM2H programme is a government initiative under the Tourism Ministry launched in 2002 that aims to attract foreign expatriates to invest in Malaysia as a serious option for migration.

The MM2H residency is a renewable 10-year, multiple-entry visa that provides incentives for property purchases and education among others. - Mkini