The people of Sarawak wanted to maintain greater independence and control over the matters and resources in their state and safeguard their way of life both culturally and religiously. In addition, Sarawak is rich in natural resources such as forests, rivers, and petroleum. 4 The reasoning behind this condition was that Sarawak is home to an ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse group of people. This special position and privileges were guaranteed in the Malaysia Agreement signed in 1963 as a condition for Sarawak to join the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia. Malaysia practices the concept of constitutional supremacy, where the Federal Constitution (“ FC”) of Malaysia is the supreme law of the land 3, setting out, inter alia, the relationships between federation and its constituent states and between the judiciary (the courts), legislature (the Parliament) and the executive (the Federal Government).Ĭemented in the FC, Sarawak has a special position and enjoys certain privileges. To fully comprehend the underlying legal processes and the policies from which they derive, it is necessary to understand the basics of the overarching legal system of Malaysia. Hence, this paper aims to discuss on the constitutional and legal framework of Sarawak, Malaysia. However, these investors may not be aware that the constitutional and legal framework in Sarawak differ from the framework in Peninsular Malaysia. 2 Consequently, it would attract more foreign investors to invest heavily in the various economic sectors in Sarawak. 1 Sarawak was announced the number one hub for foreign direct investment (“ FDI”) in Malaysia having received RM15.8 billion in foreign direct investment in 2020. From a foreign investors’ perspective, Sarawak is a goldmine brimming with economical potential. He said the time is now for Sabah to woo more foreign investments to support the growth of our local economy.Ĭhua said a localised MM2H program can effectively help boost the tourism, property sales, business, cash inflow into the state and domestic spending.Sarawak or better known as the ‘The Land of the Hornbills’ is one of the jewels of Southeast Asia, known for its beautiful cities, multicultural ethnic population and its vast rainforests which makes it a popular tourist destination in Malaysia. “We have what it takes to attract quality foreign migrants,” said Chua, as he proposed Sabah to come out with their own version of MM2H named it as Sabah-MM2H (SB-MM2H). Some of the terms include a placement of fixed deposits in local banks from RM150,00 to RM300,000 for couples, property investment for residential purposes of at least RM600,000 for applicants between 40 and 50 years old and applicants above 30 years old are also considered if they are accompanying their children to study in Sarawak or seeking long-term medical treatment.Ĭhua said it would be a disappointment if Sabah does not take an active approach over the MM2H programme, saying many foreigners think Sabah as a highly liveable place with the clean air, nature and low cost of living. The Borneo state has its own independent panel to deliberate and decide on the applications. On August 24, Sarawak in response to the MM2H programme decided to come out with the Sarawak-MM2H (S-MM2H). The measure taken by Putrajaya deemed unfair, include a minimum monthly income increase to RM40,000 (300% increase), a minimum fixed deposit increase to RM1 million (600% increase), a minimum liquidity requirement increase to RM1.5 million (400% increase), a yearly visa fee increase to RM500 (600% increase) and a duration of MM2H visa reduce to 5 years. Sabah government must take a firm stand and not follow the new terms introduced by Putrajaya that are set to be implemented in October,” he said in a statement here today. The new terms appear to "penalize" the foreigners.
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“The new MM2H terms contradict the spirit of the MM2H program, which is to promote Malaysia and attract foreigners.
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Not only this, he said the new terms set by Putrajaya could lead to an exodus of expatriates and foreigners who have already been in Sabah for a long time. Its president Datuk Chua Soon Ping said the state government should emulate Sarawak on the MM2H which are setting their own requirements, aptly known as Sarawak-MM2H (S-MM2H), not following the federal revised criteria that is now seen driving foreign investors away from Malaysia.