CYBERJAYA: More than 60,000 of the new upgraded Malaysian international passports have been issued since its launch on July 1, says Datuk Zakaria Shaaban.
The Immigration director-general said that a total of 63,475 passports had been issued nationwide so far.
“Right now we are in the third phase of the implementation. Several of our offices have already issued the new version of the passports,” he said told reporters after attending the 104th Immigration Day celebration on Tuesday (July 21).
Previously, Zakaria said the new passport will be rolled out in phases across 71 offices nationwide.
The upgraded travel document is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the security of national identity documents, in line with Malaysia’s status as having one of the world’s most powerful passports.
He said the new passport features 94 security elements, up from 49 in the current version, making it more secure and difficult to forge.
Among the enhanced features are holographic elements, ultraviolet (UV) printing, hidden visual elements and specialised forensic security features.
Malaysia is among the earliest countries to introduce the ePassport system, having done so in 1998.
The new passport complies with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards and incorporates updated security technologies, including holograms, UV printing, latent images and guilloche patterns.
