Mainland Chinese escaping stress flock to set up home in Malaysia

They do so via the MM2H visa, drawn by the country's cheaper housing, relaxed lifestyle

- Lu Wei Hoong

KUALA LUMPUR/PENANG - In her video posted on social networking platform Xiaohongshu, Shanghai-born Lauren Dai patiently explains in Mandarin how to order standard Malaysian fare like teh tarik, roti tisu (a thinner, crispier version of the traditional roti canai or roti prata) and mee goreng like the locals, while seated in a bustling mamak restaurant in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

Ms Dai has been living in the capital city's expatriate enclave of Mont Kiara since 2019, after obtaining a Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) visa that grants her residency for 10 years.

Like many of her compatriots drawn to the South-east Asian country's affordable housing and more relaxed lifestyle, she was escaping "neijuan", or involution, a term referring to the rat race and overly competitive lifestyle in China.

"My last 20 years in fast-paced Shanghai and Hong Kong have been exhausting. In China, there's no such thing as the end of the work day. WeChat blurs the lines between private and work life. I couldn't post a travel photo online without responding to a client," the 38-year-old online advertising executive told The Sunday Times.

"But in Malaysia, WhatsApp doesn't invade my personal life. Email is the preferred method of work communication. I can take a break from it during my holiday," said Ms Dai, who set up an advertising consultancy business in Malaysia and works closely with a team in Shanghai.

She is one of 26,162 mainland Chinese with MM2H status as at December 2024. The mainland Chinese make up the largest proportion, or 45 per cent, of the scheme's 57,686 participants, drawn to Malaysia for retirement, education and investment purposes. The remainder hail mainly from South Korea, Japan and Bangladesh, with a handful from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Mainland Chinese MM2H applicants have been steadily increasing over the years, accounting for the largest number from any country since 2013.