Sabah on Sunday will launch its own version of the Malaysia MySecond Home (MM2H) program, despite tensions with the Federal Tourism, Arts, and Culture Ministry (MOTAC) over the matter.The launch will see the attendance of Sabah-MM2H agents.

MOTAC had suspended the permits of MM2H agents nationwide on May 27, ordering them to re-register amid a review of the MM2H regulations.

MOTAC holds the licensing authority.

Sabah Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew announced that Sabah will go ahead with the program and would appoint its own qualified agents for processing.

Liew said the suspension has derailed Sabah’s plan to launch its Sabah-MM2H program on June 1 despite advising MOTAC to reconsider the suspension.

“We will appoint qualified representatives to process the applications, and these appointments will come from my ministry,” Liew said in Kota Kinabalu on June 7.

On June 14, MOTAC Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing announced that the new MM2H regulations had been approved and would announce the details soon.

Tiong had earlier criticized Liew for blaming MOTAC for derailing the Sabah version of the program, stating that the re-registration of agents was necessary to prevent them from subletting their permits or absconding with fees.

MOTAC's decision to cancel all agent permits triggered a backlash from both Sabah and Sarawak that was also planning to launch their own versions of the MM2H program – S-MM2H.

Approvals for the state versions of the MM2H are made by the respective state cabinets, but the authority to issue residency permits is held by MOTAC.

Meanwhile, Tiong also said the federal cabinet had decided to grant Sabah and Sarawak autonomy over the matter and plans to meet with the chief ministers of both states.

Tiong is expected to meet Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari next week regarding the tourism authority, but a date to meet Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor remains unknown. This comes following Sarawak’s request for authority following the removal of tourism from the federal list to the concurrent list.

Tourism was secretly moved under the Federal List some time in 1992 or 1994. 

Such authority will allow the East Malaysia states to carry out training and issue permits and licenses related to the tourism sector.