Guest fountainhall Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 When I renewed my retirement visa yesterday, I was notified of a change to the bank information for HSBC customers. Unlike most banks, HSBC does not have passbooks. It issues only a consolidated monthly account. In the past, Immigration has accepted certified copies of your regular statements for the immediate 3 months prior to renewal plus, if you opt for the Bt. 800,000 route, the usual letter from the bank confirming this has been in your account for a minimum of 90 days. This inevitably means officers can not see transactions through your account from the date of application back to the last day of the previous month. In the past that has not been an issue. Now they have decided they do want to see such information. So the bank will in addition have to prepare a new statement for part of the month since your last monthly statement date. I think this is nuts. What do they want to check? They already have the letter confirming the Bt. 800,000 in the savings account up to a day or two prior to application. However, TIT! Quote
Guest voldemar Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 What is your opinion on retirement in Malaysia? They have very attractive retirement program and the country seem to be much more stable than Thailand. I have to admit that I discussed this issue with several expats in Phuket (who frequently visit Malaysia on visa runs) and they all think I am nut (due to the homophobic nature of ruling Muslim group). Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 What is your opinion on retirement in Malaysia? When I decided that I would stay in Asia after I finally retire, the two countries at the top of my list were Thailand and Malaysia. At that time (1994/5) I had friends who lived in KL and I used to visit every 3 months. Ever since moving to Asia, I had always enjoyed visits to KL and Penang, and the slightly longer stays in the mid-90s were even more so. KL may have lacked go-go bars, but there were a couple of saunas, discos, several cruising areas and a galaxy of gorgeous guys who seemed to enjoy the company of older men. If sex was what you were after, KL had it aplenty. When the Asian economic crisis hit, Malaysia became even more appealing because property prices plunged much more rapidly than here in Thailand. What finally made me opt for Bangkok – as I’d still be working, I had to be near a major airport (and Pattaya was never a possible home for me) – was the very point you raise: concern about possible Islamic unrest. I think a couple of states had already introduced Sharia law by that time. There was also the huge uproar over the arrest and subsequent conviction of the Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, on what most regarded as trumped up charges of sodomy. That issue has not died down, and Anwar is now defending another set of charges. Since moving full-time to Bangkok, I have not regretted the decision. On recent visits to KL, I find the country seems to be changing. I like Malaysia’s attractive and colourful traditional dress for Muslim ladies. Understandably I guess, the country has made a major effort to attract tourists from the Middle East. On my last couple of visits, it was almost impossible to stroll anywhere without bumping into women dressed from head to toe in the black burkhas. I find this not only jarring in a country like Malaysia, but also somewhat intimidating. I also get the impression that there is now greater harassment of the saunas and massage places. And with my more advanced age, I don’t find meeting up with younger guys as easy as before – certainly not as easy as in Thailand. Perhaps xiandarkthorne will have more thoughts on this. Quote
