KUCHING: A practising doctor from Singapore, Dr Ashok Segar, who has been living in Sarawak, is appealing to the state government to resolve his residency status as well as foreigners like him in the state.
Dr Ashok said he had been living in Sarawak for the past nine years through the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme and part of the revamped MM2H programme in 2012, which assured permanent resident status to high net-worth individuals who brought more than RM7.2 million into the country for investments or savings.
The 61-year-old general practitioner and his wife, Marites Martinez Segar, 51 moved to Kuching in 2014 from Singapore after searching for a home on the Internet and found Sarawak to be among their possible options.
Dr Ashok had wanted to look for a place to settle and retire. Although he has met all the requirements of the MM2H programme, he has yet to be given a permanent resident status.
He and his wife have a three-acre home in Serian and have invested more than RM7.2 million towards providing opportunities to educate locals on health, facilities for tourism and opening their home for rescued animals.
“I love Sarawak. I fell in love with the place. I enjoy the cultural situation where it says ‘you are welcome’.
“In Singapore, it is slightly different there. Here in Sarawak, cultural acceptance is natural,” he said.
Part of the requirements to apply for the MM2H programme was to invest in property which is RM600,000 in Kuching, and RM500,000 in other areas, and Dr Ashok has spent above and beyond of the required amount.
“I have invested in excess of the required amount of investment,” he said. It was reported in August last year that Sarawak’s My Second Home participants were allowed to be employed effective September 1. However Dr Ashok, who has an active medical licence in Singapore, is still not able to work in Sarawak.
