Chinese nationals in Malaysia can 'easily disappear', says Mahathir amid Putrajaya's aggressive campaign

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has expressed concern over the sharp increase in the number of Chinese nationals settling in Malaysia over the past two years, echoing his warnings from years ago about the influx of people from the mainland due to various relaxations by the government.

The former prime minister said the presence of the local Chinese community made it harder for authorities to track down migrants from mainland China, as  the foreign nationals could "easily disappear".

This is not the case with the migration of other nationals who can be easily distinguished from Malaysian society, he said.

Mahathir said this would complicate efforts to ensure that visitors from China did not overstay their welcome.

"That is the reason why there are so many of them because we cannot distinguish the original citizens from the foreigners," he said in a recent interview with MalaysiaNow.

The Financial Times recently reported on the trend of Chinese nationals flocking to Malaysia, estimating that the number of those settling in the country has doubled in the last three years - from 82,000 in 2022 to between 150,000 and 200,000.

In addition to the 30-day visa waiver, incentives under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, a government scheme to encourage foreigners to park their wealth here in exchange for long-term visa facilitation, also encourage more Chinese citizens to settle in Malaysia.

Previously, the application process for MM2H was under the Immigration Department.

However, with the coalition government's decision to place the programme under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, headed by Tiong King Sing -  who is aggressively promoting China in Malaysia - some of the conditions have been relaxed.

Experts and analysts have warned Putrajaya of the challenges and implications of mass migration of Chinese nationals to Malaysia, recalling Singapore's experience.

They point to the impact on the property sector and home ownership as property developers place more emphasis on building luxury properties rather than affordable housing, which is usually sought after by locals.

There are also concerns about demographic change and other knock-on effects.

Mahathir was among the first political leaders to question efforts to attract Chinese nationals to Malaysia, and made this part of his election campaign in 2018, which led to the fall of the Barisan Nasional government.

At the heart of his criticism is the now-troubled Forest City project in Johor, a massive housing project that aimed to attract hundreds of thousands of Chinese nationals to buy property in Malaysia.