Friday November 21, 2014
Wahid having a light moment with executive director/CEO of Bumi Armada, Hassan Basma, and president and CEO of Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Prakash Chandran. Looking on from left to right are: Director-general of the Immigration Department of Malaysia Datuk Mustafa Hj Ibrahim, deputy secretary-general of the Ministry of Home Affairs Datuk Wahab Mohd Yasin and director of Expatriate Services Division Hamidi Adam.
PUTRAJAYA, 18 November 2014 – The Government is committed to further facilitate the entry and retention of foreign talent to steer the nation’s drive for economic development. This was emphasised today by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, in a dialogue session with eminent expatriate leaders.
“Notwithstanding our priority to Malaysian talent, we (the government) recognise foreign talent complements Malaysian talent. Foreign talent in the short run helps address critical skill gaps and in the longer term, blends with Malaysian talent to provide greater diversity of our talent pool, in line with Malaysia as an innovation-led economy,” said Wahid.
Also present at the dialogue were the Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Home Affairs Datuk Wahab bin Mohd Yasin and CEO of Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp) Johan Mahmood Merican, along with 15 expatriates from leading positions in top organisations, such as Siemens Malaysia, Intel Malaysia, and Google Malaysia.
“For expatriates working in Malaysia, the Residence Pass – Talent (RP-T) offers flexibility on a long term basis to live and work in this country. Since its launch in April 2011, more than 2800 RP-T applications have been approved,” said Johan Mahmood Merican.
The RP-T is an immigration instrument introduced in 2011 that enables top foreign talent and their spouses to work in Malaysia for up to 10 years. Holders of the RP-T have the flexibility to change employers during the 10 years without having to reapply for another employment pass. Dependents of the RP-T holder, including the parents and parents-in-law, are eligible for a five-year social visit pass.
“Many people now consider Malaysia not just as a temporary career choice, but also as a lifestyle choice. By augmenting the great talent that we have in Malaysia, we can together achieve the goals to become high income nation by 2020,” said Intel Malaysia general manager of Malaysia design centre, Christopher Kelly.
To be eligible for the RP-T, an expatriate must first have a valid employment pass. They must have a minimum gross taxable income of RM144,000 per annum, have filed for income tax in Malaysia for a minimum of two years, and must have worked in Malaysia for at least three years. The RP-T is issued personal to holder, and is renewable.
For more information on the Residence Pass-Talent (RP-T) or TalentCorp’s other global talent initiatives, please visit www.talentcorp.com.my.