Themes for Pull Factor Only

Seven themes belong to the pull factors. The themes are friendly people, good amenities and residential areas, natural amenities, hassle-free retirement scheme, ease of communication (language), central geographical location, and food variety. Among these seven themes, the latter four are unique themes found in this study.

Friendly people

Eleven participants described friendly people as an important retirement destination criterion that attracted them to choose Malaysia. For example, R27_B_65_M stated:

The first reason why I choose to retire in Malaysia is that the people are friendly and courteous. Foreigners are generally very well accepted in Malaysia.

The character of the local people was also a motivation to retire in Malaysia.

R18_J_59_F believed that friendly locals enable them to blend well with the society.

She said:

The character of Malaysian people is very friendly. We know of many people that they are very friendly to Japanese people. So, we think it is good to retire here.

157 Good amenities and residential areas

Available amenities in a retirement destination, such as religious centres, shopping malls, schools and sports centres, are essential for international retirees to maintain their daily lifestyle and social interaction. Retirees normally surveyed the residential areas before deciding to retire in Malaysia. For example, R11_J_76_M, mentioned:

I visited 52 countries. I normally carried out my own research about the places. I checked their supermarket, the variety of things available and the prices, and then I went to the residential areas. [nodding head and smile] I am convinced that Malaysia is the best.

Natural amenities

Malaysian countryside was favourably viewed by the international retirees.

Island living is among the sought after factors, by the western retirees. R4_B_55_F and R6_B_65_F described the Malaysian countryside as beautiful, serene, and peaceful, which helped meet a retirement need for fulfilment. Referring the view from her home, in Figure 4.3, R8_BE_55_F stated:

The scenery is just so beautiful in the countryside. That is what my husband and I are looking for as a place to retire in. Now we have a house in Langkawi, surrounded by beautiful scenery.

Figure 4.3: Countryside view from respondent‘s home in Langkawi

158 Hassle-free retirement scheme

To most of the interviewees, MM2H is a conducive and attractive second home retirement scheme. This is a new pull motivation factor discovered in this study.

R28_B_63_M, said:

I learnt about the MM2H programme from my friends. I made the application through an agent in Kuala Lumpur, which went very smoothly. I have been accepted for the programme, and the first thing you will notice if you are from the UK is that you have a very warm welcome.

The effectiveness of the programme to lure international retirees depends on the marketing effort. The appointment of an existing MM2H participant as an ambassador of the programme works well in promoting MM2H overseas. R11_J_76_M commented:

Gradually I feel that staying in Malaysia is not just a pleasure. I have to tell many Japanese people, to get them to come and stay. I started with voluntary work explaining to them the information available on the MM2H programme.

When they come, I meet them, and persuade them to stay. So that was the beginning. Now I am very busy promoting this programme to others.

The scheme is a hassle-free and relatively easier second home retirement scheme as compared to alternative retirement destinations in the region. To some participants, this pull factor reduces their anxiety during the application and while waiting for the acceptance into the scheme.

Ease of communication (language)

‘Ease of communication’ in a foreign retirement destination is essential to sixteen respondents in this study. The ease of communication reduces anxiety and

159 facilitates socialisation among retirees and with the locals. At the same time, language familiarity enables them to feel at home, building relationship with the locals, thus enjoying retirement in the host destination (e.g. R24_B_63_M and R31_J_63_M).

R12_J_61_F mentioned:

And another evaluation is English. In Malaysia, it is very easy to communicate with the people. Although Japanese are not very good in English, well, they can count one, two, three, four and five with everybody. [laugh] So, that makes a lot of difference.

Respondents also compare Malaysia favourably with other alternative retirement destinations in language proficiency. For example, R25_B_76_M, said:

So, what is Malaysia compared to Thailand or any other countries around here? I think we can say that the English language, which is very widely spoken, more so than many other Asian countries here.

Central geographical location

‘Central geographical location’ is another new pull motivation factor revealed in this study. Retirees regard Malaysia as an excellent centre for travel to other destinations. R16_J_59_F and R17_J_71_M provided examples of how Malaysia is the centre for South East Asian travels:

Malaysia is so near to many interesting countries in the region that we love.

Examples are Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar. So, we can easily go abroad, to enjoy the travel as we like to do it a lot.

R4_B_55_F, a frequent traveller, chose to retire in Malaysia as it is a good base for travelling, either within the region or to further destinations. R21_B_59_M stated:

160 We live in Langkawi, we can go to Penang, we can go to Kuala Lumpur, and we can also go to Bangkok. This is partly why we came to Malaysia, because we are in the centre of everything. We are half way to Australia, and there are also Sabah and Sarawak. We can go everywhere and we are in the middle of everywhere.

Central geographical location is particularly an important pull factor for the young cohort of international retirees where mobility is essential for them. Malaysia’s ideal geographical location makes it an effective retirement destination cum travel hub around the region.

Food variety

The final new motivation theme discovered in this study is food variety. Retirees portrayed food variety as an experience rather than just a basic physiological necessity.

Five out of eight respondents who stated food variety as their motivation, referred to exotic Malaysian fruits (refer Figure 4.4). Supported by R13_J_69_M, R14_J_63_F said:

[laugh] I like very much, my favourite fruit is mangosteen <laugh>. Very simple/ [laugh] In fact, both of us are also the same. [laugh] We like mangosteen a lot, and in Japan, the fruit is hard to find and expensive. [laugh]

Figure 4.4: Exotic fruits available in Malaysia

161 Aside from fruits, respondents also mentioned that food variety attracted them to retire in Malaysia. R27_B_65_M stated:

There are many reasons why we chose to retire in Malaysia. One of them is food. I do not think there is anywhere else in the world where you can get the huge variety of food as you have in Malaysia. [laugh]

Figure 4.5: Push and Pull factors of MM2H retirees

4.2.2 Transnational Behaviours

The double-blind coding yielded an inter-coder reliability of 90%. This result meets the 80% threshold proposed by Krippendorf (1980) and Miles and Huberman (1994). The findings can be simplified into three themes: financial-driven, social contact (including travel and information transfer), lifestyle and culture. Despite the items discovered were similar to the existing literatures, some of the general migrants’

Positive prior overseas experience Good amenities and residential areas

Weak ties with family and friends Close bond with family and friends

* High living cost Affordable living cost

* Weakening political stability and security * Political stability and security

* In search of tranquility and simple life Tranquility and simple life

* In search of active change upon retirement Opportunities of sports, recreational and cultural activities

* Positive retirement book description * Positive retirement book description

* Positive instant thoughts Natural amenities (e.g. island, countryside)

* Meaningful 'second life' Friendly people

162 Financial-driven

Financial-driven activity is the first attribute most respondents mentioned. As a foreign retiree residing in Malaysia, often they need to transfer funds from their residence country or home country to Malaysia for daily retirement expenses, property purchase or investment purposes (e.g. R4_B_55_F, R11_J_76_M, R15_J_60_M, R26_

B_78_M, etc.). R5_B_67_M indicated that he transfers his funds from the UK to Malaysia to purchase land and house in Ulu Melaka and Langkawi. Both R28_B_63_M and R36_J_53_F express that generally there is no problem in transferring funds from overseas to Malaysia. R7_BE_55_M mentioned:

I studied Architecture in Belgium and have always been fascinated by architecture and building sites or methods... You know when one retires, one wants to do things that one always loves doing... sometimes for all the wrong reasons too <smile>. As my money is mainly located overseas, I need to transfer it to Malaysia for this investment and to purchase a piece of land here as well.

R9_B_59_F who owns the first English tea room in Langkawi also transfers money in and out of Malaysia in her funds management exercise. Most retirees sustain their retirement in Malaysia by transferring their pension funds from overseas (e.g.

R5_B_67_M, R6_B_65_F, R11_J_76_M, R15_J_60_M, R17_J_71_M, R26_ B_78_M, R30_ B_72_M, R33_J_70_M, R38_J_62_F).

Social Contact (including Travel and Information Transfer)

Most retirees who retire overseas will need to communicate with their family members and friends in their home country. R2_D_64_M contacts his youngest daughter who lives in the Netherlands on a monthly basis through the Internet and phone calls.

163 R22_B_56_F described:

Um... We have got family members and friends all over the world… and the telecommunication facilities here are excellent and the fee is so minimal. We make calls to my family in the UK and to my friends in Australia…

In order to keep the social contacts, a number of the respondents are frequent travellers either to their country of residence and/or to other destinations. Those who travel back to their homeland, do so mainly to visit their family members. Example, R3_D_62_F returns to the Netherlands at least two to three times a year to visit her daughter while R6_B_65_F visits France to see her mother at least once a year. R8_BE_55_F often travels to Singapore to visit his mother. Similarly, R18_ J_59_F needs to travel back to Japan several times a year to take care of her 95 year old mother.

R8_BE_55_F also makes small but frequent trips to regional destinations (e.g. Thailand, Indonesia, etc.) with friends while others (e.g. R20_A_58_F, R21_B_59_M, R22_

B_56_F, R35_J_51_F, and R36_J_53_F) often travel overseas for holidays.

R15_J_60_M said:

We are now living in Kuala Lumpur. We can visit our friends in Phuket and Australia easily and cheaply. Anytime we want...

R29_J_62_M appreciates the communication infrastructures in Malaysia which allow him to keep close contact with his family and friends overseas:

Malaysia has a very good infrastructure. The telephone and the Internet systems are working perfectly here… I’m quite enjoying the free Skype calls now...

R14_ J_63_F frequently exchanges information about the house she rented out in Japan with her family and friends via the internet when she is residing in Malaysia. She also

164 indicates that she needs to travel back to Japan at least twice a year in order to check on the. This observation shows that transnational behaviour among retirees not only involves the mobility of information across the border, but also in-person when business is concerned.

Lifestyle and Culture

The ability to replicate the original lifestyle in a retirement destination is important for some retirees. The replication enables them to feel at home, though residing in a foreign land. Both R17_J_71_M and R34_J_60_F pointed out that the replication is a form of lifestyle transfer from Japan to Malaysia. As R15_J_60_M described:

We are so used to staying in the United States. So, as we are retired now, I want to maintain the overseas living condition instead of retiring in Japan. Both my wife and I prefer this kind of lifestyle…

Adapting to the local culture, R25_B_76_M tries to blend in with the locals. He said:

While retiring in Malaysia, my time is very busy. I have joined in the local community activities, following the way of living here. And I even play guitar and have jam sessions with local people in my community...

While most of the retirees are adapting their own culture to the local lifestyle (e.g.

R13_J_69_M, R15_J_60_M, etc.), R9_B_59_F who owns the first English tea room in Langkawi introduces the English tea drinking culture to the locals. The exchange of different cultures between the international retirees and the locals indeed creates richer multi-cultural understanding in Malaysian society which host MM2H participants.

165 4.2.3 Challenges while Retiring in Malaysia

Due to the topic sensitivity not all thirty-three respondents were willing to participate in this discussion. A total of twenty-three respondents (thirteen males and ten females) were interviewed, whose ages ranging from 51 to 76 (mean = 63) years. The majority of the participants (57%) were Europeans while the Asians made up the balance 43%. Kindly refer to Table 3.6 for the profiles of the twenty-three respondents.

The double-blind coding yielded 95% inter-coder reliability for the challenges experienced by international retirees while residing in Malaysia. This result meets the 80% threshold by Krippendorf (1980) and Miles and Huberman (1994). The items discovered in the in-depth interviews are presented in the next sub-sections. The three interview questions guide the presentation of the findings. In some relevant aspects, we compare and validate the findings with other information sources (Arksey & Knight, 1999; Bloor, 1997). Table 4.1 presents the summary of the main challenges’ themes and their sub-themes.