KARACHI: Khalid Abdul Razzaq, Consul General for Malaysia in Karachi, disclosed in a media briefing on Wednesday that in the past eight years, Pakistanis have transferred capital of Rs180 billion to Malaysia under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) Programme.
Giving details, the consul general said that in 2002 Malaysia had introduced Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H), a programme which allowed a person below 50 years of age to live in that country for a period of ten years and enjoy all facilities, provided that he transfers at least $300,000 in his bank account to Malaysia. This programme got a tremendous response and Pakistan emerged as one of the ten top countries that benefited from the scheme. He added that so far 700 Pakistanis, most of them from Karachi, have become part of this programme.
Converted to Pakistani currency it transpired that capital of more than Rs180 billion has been shifted from Pakistan to Malaysia. This brings out another fact that Pakistanis, especially Karachiites, suffer from a sense of insecurity and they want to keep another option open for themselves.
This correspondent is of the view that Khalid Abdul Razzaq did not give the figures to give a negative impression about Pakistanis. He was of the view that Pakistanis preferred to live in a Muslim country rather than in a western country.
The consul general said that Pakistan should exploit its immensely lucrative tourism potential and earn precious foreign exchange. He further said that Malaysia earned $14.5 billion from tourism alone. The consul general, who is proceeding to Jeddah after completing his tenure in Pakistan, expressed sentiments of love and affection for Pakistan.
