Malaysia's My Second Home (MM2H) Programme: An examination of Malaysia as a destination for international retirees

Malaysia was recently ranked fourth highest as a retirement destination by one established magazine. This warrants examination of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) Programme which targets retirees, and more recently, high net worth foreigners. Data was collected using postal questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews. By virtue of the entry requirements, the retirees were well-to-do. The application process for the MM2H visa did not pose much difficulty. Malaysia was chosen because of fond memories from earlier trips. Satisfied MM2H stayers inadvertently promoted the MM2H Programme when they narrated their positive experiences in various media. If the various country-specific and locality-specific charms that drew foreigners to Malaysia altered deleteriously, even bona fide retirees who had made Malaysia their only home would migrate elsewhere. Malaysian policy makers need to adopt cogent actions to attract more fresh retirees while retain those already in the country. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.