"Malaysia My Second Home" and Price Relativity

The clash of the historic legacy on society and optimism of a better economic future was highlighted previously. It demonstrated the potential avenues of tension and fusion between the forces of the nation and globalization, but let us consider the example of Malaysia and their MM2H visa programme.

Promotional video for the MM2H programme

"Malaysia My Second Home" encourages foreigners to set up their homes in Malaysia in return for the consequential economic stimulus that their stay will provide. In return for a £70,000-100,000 deposit, one can obtain a 10-year resident visa, providing one with a lifestyle that may be out of reach closer to home. With many coming from Europe and North America, spacious apartments, warm weather all-year-round, low taxes, good food, English spoken widely, lower cost of living, and domestic help are something akin to expected.

But what is surprising here is that the age of those applying for this programme are those over 50, closer to retirement age. It is not just the younger generation, but the older one too which have seemed to realize the economic potentials of a globalization. There are opportunities for a younger generation of manufacturers, of course, with relative high levels of education, a low-cost labour force, and the advantage of English being spoken. But it has been suggested that the older generation is not part of globalization as such, but a sort of curious group epitomising 'neo-colonialism'.

A sense of exotic adventure, to leave your dreary homeland and live in a previously unaffordable luxury; is this not familiar at all? Perhaps this is just the uneven consequences of a globalized economy, but it is relatively easy for the West to take advantage of the price differentials that come about when going to a poorer country. There are economic benefits for the host country of course; since these lands of potential are commonly known as 'emerging markets'.

The characters you might well find in a Poirot mystery. But where is Mesopotamia? Sounds exotic in any case!

But that familiar group of expat misfits is not so dissimilar to a century ago in Malaysia, or even around the world today. Let us visit the Shangri-La hotel in KL, Dubai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Moscow - delete as appropriate. As the Scotch flows, there is the accountant who goes very red with his inability to hold his alcohol, the housewife with immaculate dress talking about haute couture as if people actually know what its all about, the eccentric but odd German whose laugh lingers a little too long, and of course the 30-something woman who fidgets with her long, narrow cigarettes looking distinctly out of place in older company. This is not just the characters of a Poirot thriller, but the peoples in an International Racing/Cricket/Golf/Women's Association in a generic, cosmopolitan city in a land far, far, away...

With the knowledge that this is some sort of extended holiday - they will return to their 'homeland' at some point - no real effort is made to integrate with the locals. Well, only if they happen to live in the same gated community perhaps. The sprinklers of the immaculately mown grass hiss in isolation, as noone would bother to actually play sports on it... Perhaps they are more interested in the culture? The unimaginative captions in Mandarin are not of much use of in the local aquarium.

The economic benefits are clear to see, but is this a life worth living - with servants and sun, but without emotional connection or a recognisable cultural milieu?

Yes, if this were me or you, we would do exactly the same - indulge in the exotic with a glass of 'New World' Chilean wine while looking out from the balcony at the sun and those poor souls sweating every sinew in pulling rickshaws who will become slightly richer. There is at least something to look forward to in older age!

See relevant links:
MM2H - The Official Website