Malaysian PR (Permit Masuk): Learning and Improving my Bahasa Malaysia for PR Interviews

A basic proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia (BM) is a requirement for all PR applicants. The Immigration and Police interviews will be conducted in BM, and whilst being fluent is not expected, applicants should be able to understand the questions and be able to respond in BM.
 
I've never been great at learning languages, and I wasn't confident about having to speak BM in the PR interviews. However, I put in a lot of preparation and managed to pass both interviews.

This is how I learnt/improved my BM:
 
1) Took BM lessons

A few years ago I took BM lessons once a week for 3 months. A professional teacher taught me the basics fairly quickly and gave a good foundation for understanding the language. There are many classes available. Here are some examples:

• https://www.alslanguage.com.my/ 
• https://www.ymcakl.com/page/204/Language-Courses/ 
• https://expatsmalaysia.my/malay-language-course/

2) Used the Ling language learning app

It had been a while since my BM lessons, so I signed up for the Ling language app to practice speaking and listening to BM in everyday situations. It is one of the few apps offering BM: https://ling-app.com/ 

 
3) Revised the type of questions that might be asked

I wrote out a list of all of the questions I saw other applicants had been asked, as well as general knowledge on Malaysia, and translated them and my answers into BM. I also learnt the national anthem (Negaraku) and Rukun Negara. See below for example questions
 
4) Practiced speaking BM with my spouse

As well as day to day conversations, my wife and I practiced the likely interview questions. My wife recorded the questions on my phone so that I could listen and practice answering them on my own.

Although I didn't try this myself, another option is to learn from YouTube language channels. A couple that I have seen recommended are:

• Sierra Lisse: https://www.youtube.com/@sierralisse8897 
• Tina Amir: https://www.youtube.com/@TinaAmir 

Example Questions:

Below are some questions that other people have been asked at their interviews. I translated them into BM and prepared my answers for them:
 
Questions about you and your spouse:

• Can you speak BM?
• What is your name?
• What country do you come from?
• What is your address/where do you stay?
• Do you own or rent the house?
• What is your age?
• What is your date of birth?
• Where were you born?
• What is your wife/husband’s date of birth?
• What is your religion?
• What date did you first come to Malaysia and what was your reason for visiting?
• What was the date of your first LTSVP?
• How long have you lived in Malaysia?
• How and when did you meet?
• How long you have been married?
• What was your marriage date?
• Do you have any children?
• What are your occupations?
• Which company do you/your spouse work for?
• What are your salaries?
• What is your wife/husband’s monthly salary?
• How many family members do you have?
• Do you have siblings?
• Do you have family in your home country?
• What are your family members occupations?
• Where does your family live?
• How many siblings does your wife/husband have?
• Where does your wife/husband’s family live?
• How many times do you go to your country in a year?
• What are your education qualifications?
• What are your wife/husband’s qualifications?
• Why do you want to apply for PR?
• What do you like about Malaysia?
• What do you like to do in Malaysia in your free time?
• What does your wife/husband like to do?
• What food do you like?
• What is your telephone number?
• Do you follow politics? This was asked at my Police interview. Foreigners are not allowed to get involved in Malaysian politics.
  

 
General knowledge questions about Malaysia:

• What is the National Flower?
• What colour is the National Flower?
• What is the name of the Malaysian flag?
• How many colours does the flag have and what are they?
• How many stripes and what other symbols are on the flag?
• When is Malaysia Independence Day (Hari Merdeka)?
• When is Malaysia Day (Hari Malaysia)?
• How many states and federal territories are there and what are they?
• Who is the king?
• Who is the Prime Minister?
• Who is the Deputy Prime Minister
• Who are some other cabinet ministers?
• Who was the first Prime Minister?
• Can you name all of Malaysia's prime ministers?
• Sing the National Anthem (Negaraku). Stand up when singing it to show respect!
• Recite Rukun Negara

It is very important to learn Negaraku and Rukun Negara, as applicants can be asked to sing/recite them at either (or both) PR interviews.

Malaysian PR (Permit Masuk): Police Interview for Spouse

Attend Police Interview (April 2023)

I had my interview at Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontingen in KL, the process may be different at other police stations. 

The immigration officer had said that the police would call us to arrange the interview between 6 months and 1 year after the immigration interview but we actually received a call after 5 months, and were asked if we could come to the police station the next day.

The police officer asked us to bring the originals and 2 copies of the following documents:

• Foreign spouse passport (copy bio page)
• Foreign spouse LTSVP
• Foreign spouse birth certificate
• Local spouse IC (copy both sides)
• Local spouse birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Immigration confirmation letter (given to us after we submitted the application to Immigration)

I also printed a list with the following information:

• Family members of both spouses with name, age, occupation & address
• Schools the foreign spouse has attended and education qualifications

The police officer was pleased we had printed this list as it made her job a little easier!

We also brought the original documents submitted as part of our Immigration application (current & old passports/IC/wedding certificate/birth certificate/ sponsor’s payslips & employment letter/utility bill/bond receipt etc) in case we were asked to show them.

Both the applicant and Malaysian spouse are interviewed at the same time. Our interview was as at Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontingen (IPK), KL (near LaLaPort mall). We parked in the police compound and registered at the gate. We arrived very early ahead of our appointment, but there was no need to do so as we were asked to wait by the gate until we were collected by an officer at the appointed interview time. 

The officers were professional, friendly, and made us feel at ease. Another couple had their PR interview with a different police officer in the same room, at the same time.

We were primarily asked about our relationship history, occupations and salaries, family members, education, and the reasons for my PR application. The police can also ask the same questions as Immigration, including requesting to recite the Rukun Negara and sing Negaraku.

See my post here on how I improved my BM for the PR interviews, and the questions that might be asked: 

https://spousevisamalaysia.blogspot.com/2023/04/malaysia-permanent-residence-pr-permit_20.html

The interview lasted 1½ hours, including the time the officer spent entering data into their system.

At the end of the interview I was advised that my file will now be passed to Bukit Aman who will carry out background checks, which can take around 1 year. The file is then passed back to Immigration for review and following that it is sent to HQ at Putrajaya for a decision.  

The police officer said I should regularly follow up with Immigration to check on the status. I was also reminded that I must continue to renew my LTSVP.

I checked my status online at https://imigresen-online.imi.gov.my/eservices/myPermit?semakStatusPermit