As Members of Parliament, we represent the voices of the people and we check on government policies and provide feedback for improvement.
One of the most coveted positions has always been the position of the Home Minister. It comes with wide powers, mainly seen to preserve and to keep security but it is so much more than that.
Many Malaysians have foreign spouses living in this country. These couples have children, work and pay taxes to contribute to our economy. With multiple lockdowns and currently in a prolonged one, many face difficulties renewing their visas.
They are subject to “Sistem Temujanji Online” (STO) which is fully booked out 3 months in advance. This causes great stress to the family institution – children’s education, medical treatment, job security and many more are fully subjected to the renewal of a spouse’s visa. We urge the Home Minister to immediately provide relief to this group of visa holders which ultimately affect their Malaysian families by allowing renewal of visas for a longer term (instead of 1 or 2 years). This will automatically reduce the large crowd at immigration counters and provide more certainty to these family units.
MM2H program has contributed billions to our local economy but it has been officially suspended since last year. Today, many MM2H visa holders have been stranded outside of Malaysia. In a time of pandemic like this when our economy is so battered, while we struggle to hold together whatever that is remaining, it is common sense to not drive away the current contributors of our national income.
Whilst our Economic Minister is courting new foreign investment overseas, the ones back home are slipping away as confusing, inconsistent and uncoordinated policies keep them out of the country.
We urge the Home Minister to allow existing MM2H visa holders who have been fully vaccinated to re-enter the country and release the revised MM2H guidelines for the resumption of the program.
The above are just 2 examples of how the Home Minister can use his power to promote family friendly and income generating policies. Home Ministry services must find ways to optimise its services as they deal with essential documents relating to identity and security such as the National Registration Department and its issuance of birth certificates. It is also time to consider moving more of its services online by reducing over the counter load. It is also crucial for Government websites to publish official notifications promptly and make it easily accessible and this applies to all Ministries.
We urge the Perikatan Nasional Government to take a holistic approach and coordinated strategy in rebuilding our economy and maintaining sanity for the affected families. These are easy, fast and clean income for the Government. Don’t throw this away when income is now scarce.
Jointly issued on 22 July 2021 by :
Hannah Yeoh
MP Segambut
Former Deputy Minister for Women, Family and Community Development
Dato’ Mohd Azis Jamman
MP Sepanggar
Former Deputy Home Minister
