Kuala Lumpur: Fleeing China’s exhausting “996” work culture — 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week — more Chinese nationals are moving to Malaysia under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) scheme.
Shanghai-born Lauren Dai, an online advertising executive, relocated to Kuala Lumpur in 2019 after years in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
“In China, there’s no such thing as the end of the work day. WeChat blurs the lines between private and work life.
“But in Malaysia, WhatsApp doesn’t invade my personal life. E-mail is the preferred method of work communication” she told The Straits Times.
Dai now runs an advertising consultancy from Kuala Lumpur while coordinating with a Shanghai team, and where she enjoys Malaysia’s affordability and relaxed culture, including late-night meals at mamak restaurants.
Dai is part of a wave of Chinese nationals embracing Malaysia’s lower costs and balanced lifestyle. As of December 2024, 26,162 Chinese held MM2H visas, making up 45 per cent of the scheme’s 57,686 participants. Many relocate for retirement, education, or investment.
Amid China’s worsening neijuan (excessive competition), Malaysian international schools offer an escape from China’s rigid education system for those unable to withstand its rigours or afford the remedial classes to keep up.
Failure to make it through typically consigns the student to a future of blue collar life.
“They (Chinese parents) prefer to send their children to Malaysia, especially Kuala Lumpur, to attend international schools, hoping they’ll have a better chance of becoming white-collar professionals,” said Anthony Liew, president of the MM2H Consultants Association.
The influx has also heated up Malaysia’s property market.
“Some 80 per cent of my clients in 2025 are from Greater China, compared with none when I started in 2013” said Lisa Chan, a Penang-based property agent.
Malaysia’s stricter 2024 MM2H requirements — US$150,000 in fixed deposits and a RM600,000 property purchase — haven’t slowed demand. Between September 2024 and January 2025, MM2H applicants generated RM681 million in property investments.
Culture clash
However, the growing Chinese presence has sparked adjustments. Penang’s international schools cap Chinese students at 20 per cent per class to maintain diversity.
And despite moving to Malaysia to escape the dreaded “996” life, Chinese nationals still demand the same of businesses here.
“Chinese clients prioritise efficiency and often message their requests late at night. In China, you are expected to respond promptly.
“But in Malaysia, our designers do not work round the clock,” said one local interior designer, who said Chinese clients would typically outsource such work abroad.
The person alleged that some Chinese nationals would also bring in mainland interior designers as tourists — taking advantage of Malaysia’s 30-day visa-free scheme — to perform the surveys and measurements.
Despite integration challenges, many Chinese expatriates embrace local culture.
One retired couple, who chose Penang, said Malaysia has been the salve to their burnout from China’s hectic life.
“Over-efficiency (and overwork) damaged our relationship in China. Kuala Lumpur is a good place, but it doesn’t suit our slower pace of life. Penang is better – there’s no neijuan here.”
