MPs call for reviews after man’s passport blocked by immigration error

William Leong says the incident points to a ‘systemic error’ resulting in an injustice, while Khoo Poay Tiong calls for barred individuals to be notified in writing.

MPs William Leong and Khoo Poay Tiong say the immigration department must tighten checks after a technical mistake left a man unable to travel overseas for years.

PETALING JAYA:

 Two members of a special Dewan Rakyat select committee on human rights are urging regular reviews of entry bans into Sabah and Sarawak, after a man’s passport renewal was blocked for years due to an administrative error.

Pakatan Harapan MPs William Leong (Selayang) and Khoo Poay Tiong (Kota Melaka) made the call after the immigration department acknowledged last month that its Sarawak branch had wrongly barred technical writer Hafiz Hamid from travelling in 2018.

The department said an officer had mistakenly keyed in the restriction code for a federal warning notice — which blocks passport renewals and overseas travel — instead of one applying only to Sarawak.

The mistake prevented Hafiz, 42, from renewing his passport after it expired in 2020, leaving him unable to travel.

Leong, the committee’s chair, said the mistake cannot be pinned solely on a single officer. The officer’s superiors, including those handling appeals, should have detected the mistake earlier, he added.

“This looks like a systemic error,” he said, adding that it had resulted in an injustice to Hafiz.

Leong suggested that Hafiz be offered some form of compensation.

He also urged the immigration department to review its operations to prevent similar errors in the future.

The department said the federal restriction has since been lifted, allowing Hafiz to renew his passport at any passport office. However, the restriction on entering Sarawak remains active, it added.

The select committee’s deputy chair, Khoo, said the department must not allow such blocks to remain indefinitely without review. He proposed quarterly reviews to prevent similar cases.

Khoo also called for time limits on entry bans so they do not become indefinite travel restrictions.

He said individuals subjected to such bans should be notified in writing, and stressed the need for a clear appeals process and greater transparency on why individuals are barred from entering Sabah or Sarawak.

Khoo questioned the delay in rectifying Hafiz’s case, noting that it was only resolved after he engaged a lawyer.

He recommended a wider audit of the department’s systems to ensure no one else suffers the same hardship. - FMT