Raymond and Joy Keys
Raymond and Joy Keys are both from the UK and decided to stay on in Malaysia after Raymond's employment contract in Malaysia ended in 2002. They were some of the first people to sign up when the Malaysia My Second Home programme replaced the Silver Haired programme. They live in KL with their two children, Rory and Stuee.
Why did you choose to live in Kuala Lumpur?
Raymond: Because we had lived in KL while I was working here, we knew the city well and it offers everything we need on our doorstep.
What work were you doing in Malaysia?
Raymond: I managed the AstraZeneca (pharmaceutical) business here in Malaysia, Brunei, and Sri Lanka from 1999 to 2002. My job enabled me to travel all over Malaysia including Langkawi and East Malaysia, meeting customers and attending conferences.
What was the main reason you decided to come and live here under the MM2H programme?
Raymond: Having experienced the country first hand for the three years of my work contract, we got to like what Malaysia had to offer, in particular the cuisine, the climate, and of course the very reasonable cost of living. At the end of the contract we were fortunate to have the option of staying on under the Malaysia My Second Home scheme, and it just seemed much more preferable than returning to the cold, wet, windy, and expensive UK!
What do you like most about living in Malaysia?
Raymond: The wonderful array of food choices at very affordable prices and the climate here is much more pleasant than a cold, wet, and windy alternative.
Joy: The amalgamation of people/races/religions all living in harmony and with an appealing open house policy in operation during the key festivals is something the rest of the world could learn from. I also wanted our children to continue their education at The Alice Smith School, as we were very impressed by the level of education.
What aspects of living here do you find you like the least?
Raymond: The blatant disregard for the law by many road users and the low standard of road courtesy. The way many people disregard the Government's order to cease 'open burning' particularly in times of haze build up, despite the health impact on the general public. I also get upset about the lack of care for the environment and the tendency to litter public amenities with no regard for other. And how could we forget the general state of public toilets? Then again, nowhere is perfect!
Have you travelled outside Malaysia in the last year?
Raymond: Yes we visited Thailand, Vietnam, Ireland, England, and Hungary.
What about around Malaysia?
Joy: We took trips to Port Dickson, Ipoh, Kuantan, Penang, and Kuching. I spent a month in Genting Highlands as our children were selected to perform in the musical production "Oliver."
How do you keep busy?
Raymond: There never seem to be enough hours in the day. With the children, golf, and travelling we keep very busy. I also have a road bike and a mountain bike. I usually cycle between 200 to 300 kilometres a week. I also manage to squeeze in scuba diving from time to time and some photography. In addition, I have four PCs which can be very time consuming.
Have you made many friends here?
Joy: Having lived here for a total of almost seven years we have built up a wide circle of Malaysian and expat friends through work, golf, our children's school friends, and their parents.
What do you miss most about England?
Raymond: Fresh cream cakes and very little else.
Joy: Cool walks in the countryside and family comedy programmes on TV, although I can access good old radio comedy programmes through the BBC website.
How do your children feel about living here?
Joy: They are very happy with their schooling here, and in fact they have lived in Malaysia longer than anywhere else in the world so far. Rory was six weeks old when we left the UK and Stuee was born in Budapest.
How happy are you with the MM2H programme?
Raymond: The Malaysia My Second Home Programme is an excellent scheme and by far the best in the region as far as I know. However, there is scope to make it even more attractive and to improve the communication regarding the benefits of the whole scheme. Sometimes it is hard to acquire information about the programme and then different sources give different answers. The regular articles in The Expat magazine are very informative and most welcome. I was rather disappointed that they did not make the duty free car entitlement retroactive. When we joined it was not included and my appeal to be allowed to buy a duty free purchase was rejected.
