KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 26): A total of 120,183 expatriates were in Malaysia as of Oct 31, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

He said of the total, the highest number of expatriates were from China (27,460), India (23,131), the Philippines (9,302), Japan (8,739) and Indonesia (8,333).

"Meanwhile, 36% of the 120,183 (expatriates) are from other countries," he said during the oral question and answer session at Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.

He was responding to a question by Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah (BN-Paya Besar) on the number and percentage of high-value foreigners (expatriates) migrating to Malaysia according to the country breakdown.

Saifuddin Nasution said that based on the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), the presence of expatriate officers provided an economic impact by contributing RM75 billion, equivalent to 4.8% of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He said the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) had also collected up to RM100 million in income tax from the group.

According to Saifuddin Nasution, among the attractions of expatriate officers to Malaysia is the low cost of living for the group, political stability and the potential for economic vitality in the country.

He said this placed Kuala Lumpur in eighth position out of 49 major cities by the Expat City Ranking 2023.

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