BIBLIOGRAFÍA

There are three main themes discovered, all of which echo the existing literatures. However, two new perspectives were indicated within the theme of ‘Daily life’s inconveniences’: Unreliable postal service and unstandardized banking procedures.

172 Personal safety and security

Retirees pointed out that personal safety and security is one of the major challenges faced in Malaysia. Safety and security issues ranged from minor pick-pocketing at busy areas of Bukit Bintang and Chow Kit, experienced by respondent R16, R17, and R21 to robbery, reported by respondent R1. Respondent R2 questioned the effectiveness of local police in Langkawi to ensure and protect residents’ safety.

There are a lot of minor crimes committed by the local druggies... We were told that the island is very safe with no crime... We have hundreds of police here...

However, their main concern is stopping traffic all the time... We, along with most other expats here have lost our ‘peace of mind’ and I for one live in fear of worse to come.

Even though the Malaysian government announced a decreasing crime rate in 2012 (Avran, 2012) and the Global Peace Index 2011 shows that Malaysia is a safer country than even Singapore (Rogers, 2011), the statistics do not seem to reflect crimes that the respondents reported. To reconfirm the present state of the phenomenon, a follow-up interview was carried out in January 2013 (18 months after the first in-depth interview).

The same participants maintained their skeptical view towards the personal safety and security issue in Malaysia. Respondent R16, R17, and R21 mentioned that they still take high precautions when visiting certain places in Kuala Lumpur, simply because the unfortunate incidents still happen to some of their compatriots. Perhaps, the negative self-experience and word-of-mouth continue to haunt participants, maintaining a negative perception towards the issue.

173 Religious challenge

Respondents R4, R5, R7, and R10 expressed their concern over the lack of Christian churches in Langkawi which caused inconvenience to the Christians to carry out their religious obligations. R5 indicated:

Retirees like us have more time to fulfil religious obligations. Well, we know that this island is mainly dominated by the Muslim community. But, it will be good if more Christian churches are available for our convenience. To my knowledge, there are only two churches in Langkawi.

In this study, European retirees indicate the insufficient choice of worship places and rather than their non-availability. The authority should view this need as important for the aging population, who likely take their spiritual obligation more seriously. The comment may be valid in Langkawi where the majority of the population is Muslim.

Daily life’s inconveniences

Among reported MM2H participants daily life's inconveniences are elevator and facilities breakdown at their condominium (by respondent R15, R16, and R22), traffic jams and driver attitudes in Kuala Lumpur (by respondent R1, R11, R14, and R23), and utility supply disruptions (by respondent R16, R19, and R23). Respondent R13 stated:

Oh well, I like Malaysia being a warm country, but without air-conditioner it’s a bit unbearable sometimes. A few times, electrical power was cut off at night. It’s just difficult to get a good sleep.

In general, challenges within the residential areas are the responsibility of the residence’s management, while utility supply issues are the responsibility of the utility supplier. The issues alert the relevant parties of the need for appropriate actions. Being a

174 developing economy in Asia, Kuala Lumpur is packed with vehicles, causing traffic jams particularly just before and after office hours. However, Respondent R18 commented:

Once you are familiar with the areas around Kuala Lumpur, you will know when the heavy traffic will occur and when it will be less. Once you know the tricks, you should be able to avoid it.

Respondent R16 offered a suggestion:

Perhaps, you should just take a taxi instead of driving yourself. The taxi service is convenient here.

Some European and Asian retirees also contrast this issue by describing that the traffic jams in Kuala Lumpur are not as bad as other even busier cities around the region, such as, Bangkok, Jakarta, and Manila.

Respondents R1 and R7 commented on inefficient and unreliable postal services in Malaysia, particularly in terms of delivery speed. Further probing identified the services refer to the normal postal system. Even though tracking system is available for registered postal service; respondent R1 commented that the local postal system is unreliable. The informants created a sequence of negative perceptions towards the postal service. Perhaps their own experience further strengthened their belief that the postal service is unreliable in Malaysia. Unhappily, R1 mentioned:

I forgot to mention, the postal service is terrible. You know, so much stuff gets stolen coming into Malaysia from overseas... I’ve experienced myself too... It was a present from my friend for my birthday... but it never arrived...

[disappointed]

175 Six out of ten Asian participants indicating that the banking procedures in Malaysia cause inconvenience to their daily life. Some of these retirees expected standardized procedures among banks in the country. However, the banking procedures in Malaysia are different from one to another, causing hassle and inconvenience among the retirees.

Respondent R14 mentioned:

Hmm… in my home country, we just need to follow similar rules or ways to open an account in any bank. But here, the rules or the ways to open an account are different in each bank or even in the branches... One day when I go to HSBC, HSBC has its own style. CIMB has a different style. When I go to Maybank, it’s different. So, you know, it just got me confused and lost. [laugh]

Perhaps this issue is again an isolated problem for the Asian participants as they are used to the standardized banking procedures in their home country (in this case Japanese participants). None of the European interviewees indicated the problem even after further probing.

Table 4.1: Themes of Challenges Experienced by International Retirees in Malaysia

Main themes Sub-themes

(1) MM2H operational issues (a) Substantive requirements of paperwork (b) Lengthy procedures

(c) Complicated procedures (d) Inconsistent requirements (e) Unacceptable requirements

(f) Ineffective services of MM2H agents

^ (g) Unclear rules and regulations

^ (h) Unprofessional officers (2) Inconvenient renewal office

location (a) Inconvenient renewal office location

176 (3) Personal safety and security (a) Petty crime (e.g.: pickpockets)

(b) Robbery (c) Snatch theft

(d) Ineffective local police (4) Religious challenge (a) Insufficient worship place

(5) Daily life’s inconveniences (a) Problems encountered at residences (b) Traffic jam

(c) Utility supply problem

^ (d) Unreliable postal service

^ (e) Unstandardized banking procedures

^ New indicators discovered within an existing theme

Theme 1 and 2: Challenges encountered during the application process Theme 3 to 5: Challenges encountered while retiring in Malaysia