PETALING JAYA: The introduction of the new Malaysian international passport has been postponed from its initial June 1 rollout date, says the Immigration Department.
Its director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said a new launch date will be announced later.
“This is to ensure the smooth delivery of services and to maintain the best possible experience for the public in handling their affairs,” he said in a statement yesterday.
“The public may still renew their existing passports as usual and passports that are still valid will remain usable until their expiry date,” he added.
He added that updates on the new passport would be provided periodically through the department’s official channels.
“The department greatly appreciates the cooperation and continued support from the public, and remains committed to strengthening the security of the nation’s travel documents and providing the best possible services to the people,” he said.
It was announced earlier that the new passport would have 94 security features and more stringent safeguards against forgery, up from the current version’s 49.
The features include holograms, ultraviolet printing and special security thread in the stitching.
It was recently announced that the introduction of the new passport on June 1 would be carried out first at four offices, namely the Immigration headquarters in Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur Immigration Office, Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) passport office in Wangsa Maju and Shah Alam Immigration Office.
It was supposed to be expanded to immigration offices nationwide in stages by the end of July.
