There have been several YouTube videos recently sharing several Singaporeans who decided to retire in Malaysia, largely due to the good foreign exchange differences (current SGDMYR 3.333), cheaper International Schools (in Johor) across the causeway and the common foods which Singaporeans and Malaysians share.
One of the popular Malaysian locations is Penang. Penang (Malay: Pulau Pinang, [pi.naŋ]) is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula.
Similar to Singapore, Penang is famous for its street food, e.g. laksa, kuay teow and cendol.
- Penang Road Famous Laksa
Having spent a few decades in Joo Hooi Café, Penang Road Famous Laksa moved to their new location at Lebuh Keng Kwee in 2016.
Location: 5, Lebuh Keng Kwee, George Town, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang Opening Hours: 9am to 5.30pm Closed On: Wednesday
- New Siam Road Char Koay Teow
Location: 82, Jalan Siam, George Town, 10400 George Town, Penang Island Opening Hours: 12pm to 6:30pm Closed On: Monday and Sunday
- PENANG ROAD FAMOUS TEOCHEW CENDOL Manned by the friendly Pak Haji himself, the Cendol Durian Pulut is a crowd puller with customers flocking to the roadside stall on most weekends.
As the name would suggest, this place is very well known among the locals of Penang. Fortunately, it has many branches not only in Penang but all over Malaysia as well. This Penang famous cendol stall provides outstandingly good food that can serve as an entrée before your delicious dessert.
Location: 27-29, Lebuh Keng Kwee, George Town, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 7pm
The Malaysian Government launched the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme about fifteen (15) years ago, which is a way for foreigners to retire and live in Malaysia for an extended period of time. Applications for the visa were suspended for over a year during the Covid 19 pandemic. However, when the programme reopened and in August 2021, the government imposed stricter MM2H conditions, which included needing to show RM1.5 million (US$338,000) in liquid assets and having a minimum RM40,000 monthly income. They want to attract ‘quality’ applicants and they felt the best way to do this was to significantly raise the entry requirements. Previously, applicants only needed savings of between RM300,000 and RM500,000, according to local media.
Since the new programme was introduced, there was a significant 90% drop in applications. On 18 April 2023, the government issued a statement that they will review the criteria and plan to make it more flexible. For those interested to find out more when they update, please continue to follow me.
Of course, there are also other locations which many Singaporeans have chose to retire. Here are some of the lists below:
- Bali, Indonesia
- Victoria, B.C, Canada
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Taipei, Taiwan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Brighton, UK
- Da Nang, Vietnam
- Kyoto, Japan
If you have an interest about the 9 locations above and wish me to post on the retirement programmes, please write to me.
Credits to:
- @Ghib Ojisan – (29) REALITY of Leaving Singapore & Retiring in Penang | Singaporeans in Malaysia – YouTube
- @corporatebreakoutcouple – (29) 5 Reasons Why We Left Singapore – A Singaporean Couple Explains – YouTube
- Malaysia to review criteria for retirement residency visa amid drop in applications (channelnewsasia.com)
- Rasa Malaysia