Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (SHAREDA) has lauded the state government's decision to approve in principle a slash of the fixed deposit minimum, and property purchase eligibility for the state’s own Malaysia MySecond Home Programme (MM2H).

The fixed deposit and eligibility amount for property purchases would now be reduced to RM200,000 and RM600,000 respectively.

SHAREDA president Datuk Chua Soon Ping said the fixed deposit has no significant effect on the economic spin-off of the state, however, by introducing a lower rate, this will allow SB-MM2H participants to make greater expenditures by purchasing homes, as well as spend on vehicles and education.

Chua also complimented the state cabinet in listening to SHAREDA’s recommendation to set the fixed deposit amount to RM200,000 instead of RM1.5 million as proposed initially by the Federal home ministry.

“The rationale to deposit RM200,000 in banks will have no significant effect on the economic spin-off in the local state market but the spending on purchases of homes, cars and education fees would have multiplier effects,” said Chua.

He added the Sabah-owned MM2H guidelines are one of the catalysts for investments in the state provided the costs are reasonable and attractive as SHAREDA has recommended in the past.

Towards this end, Chua also proposed several measures to make it safer and easier for applicants via online application for the programme to obtain approval in principle, before landing in Sabah and the applicant submits documents for verification.

Developers with apartment or condominium units RM600,000 and above, as well as schools and banks, will benefit from having this online platform as all the relevant criteria and information will be available for the applicants to see in one place, making the process transparent and efficient.

Chua hopes the government will expedite the release of the new SB-MM2H guidelines as soon as possible to bring more investment to the state.