Last week, the Malaysian Immigration Department director-general Zakaria Shaaban announced that the new Malaysian International Passport will begin rolling out on 1 June. That’s not happening anymore, as the department released a statement noting that the rollout of the new passport is being delayed. No new date was provided, only that the new release date will be announced at an unspecified later time.
The statement in question was posted on the department’s official Facebook page, being attributed to director-general Zakaria. As for why the delay is happening, he says that it’s to “ensure smooth service delivery as well as the optimal interaction experience for the public”. He adds that “any further updates related to the new passport will be announced through official Malaysian Immigration Department channels from time to time.
With that in mind, the statement also mentions that the public can still renew their existing passports as usual. In the same way, they also remain valid until they expire. It’s a familiar message, as Zakaria said the same before, when initially announcing the 1 June rollout of the new passport.
The statement closes with him expressing the department’s “appreciation for the public’s continuous cooperation and support”, and says that the department “remains committed to strengthening the security of national travel documents while delivering the best service to the public”.
From the statement, it sounds like the delay is not caused by the implementation of the new security features of the new passport. Zakaria previously revealed that the new passport will feature 94 security elements, slightly short of double the 49 of the current one. These include holograms, ultraviolet printing, and even special security threads used in its stitching.
Also, Zakaria previously mentioned that the rollout of the new passport would happen in phases. It was supposed to only be available in four offices, before gradually being made available in Immigration offices nationwide.
