Travellers see red over Malaysian passport delays

© Provided by The Malay Mail Online The Immigration Department says passports could not be issued at some of its counters since Thursday due to ‘routine maintenance’. — AFP picPETALING JAYA, May 21 — The Immigration Department has not been able to issue passports at some of its counters since Thursday, jeopardising the travel plans of many applicants.

Malay Mail yesterday received calls from several angry applicants after they attempted to collect their passports from the Urban Transformation Centres (UTC) in Sentul and Keramat.

Accountant Phang Shi Lin, 34, said she applied for a new passport two weeks ago at the Sentul UTC but was told it was not ready because the system was down.

“I have a flight to Vietnam on Sunday and I really need my passport. It is very upsetting that they have not sorted this out. 

“It was supposed to be ready today (yesterday) but they told me the system has been down nationwide since Thursday. What kind of an excuse is that?” she said.

Dr Kamala Sivakumar, 28, who was due to fly to Krabi on Monday, found the service disruption “ridiculous”.

“They assured me the passport would be ready by today (yesterday) but now I’m being told even though it’s ready I cannot collect it because the system is down.

“Apparently, they are doing some kind of maintenance or upgrading but if that is the case, why were we not informed beforehand. Instead, they told me to ‘try my luck’ on Sunday,” said Dr Kamala, who had gone to the Keramat UTC.

A notice posted on the immigration website, dated May 19, announced the closure of several immigration counters.

“Immigration counters at the UTC in Johor Baru, Sentul, Ipoh and Kajang and Seberang Jaya counters will not be operating between Friday and Sunday,” the notice said.

The reason stated was international passports were being equipped with polycarbonate pages which are embedded with microchips.

A check by Malay Mail with the general operator at the Putrajaya call centre confirmed the service had been inundated with calls since Friday morning.

“Many people are calling in to get through to immigration but no one is taking calls at the department. Many of the callers are very angry,” the operator said.