2 8m Passports Issued Post Covid No Applications Rejected Minister

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The Immigration Department has issued 2.8 million passports post-Covid-19, said Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said of that number, 45 percent applied for passports online which only took three minutes, after which applicants could collect their passports after two to three days.
“Every day, immigration has to contend with crowds and is also facing congestion… but not all of its offices.
“For example, in Perlis, the immigration Department issues 20 to 30 passports every day but in Damansara, Shah Alam, and Kelana Jaya, we issue many times over.
“Since post-Covid-19, we have issued almost 2.8 million passports and not a single one of the applications has been rejected.
“45 percent applied online while the rest appeared in person at the immigration office. Of that number (2.8 million), 40 percent have no plans to leave the country while the rest travel,” Saifuddin said.
Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution IsmailHis comments came after attending the Home Ministry’s Madani Implementation of Virtuous Values and Iftar ceremony at George Town, Penang, tonight.
The event also saw the attendance of Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, Immigration director-general Ruslin Jusoh, and Penang police chief Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain.
Saifuddin, who is also the Pantai Jerejak state assemblyperson, said the Immigration Department will also introduce a pilot project to overcome congestion at passport-issuing offices.
The project is to only accept online applications and subsequent passport collection, with the rationale being there is widespread internet coverage in the particular area.
“This pilot project is being fine-tuned and we will implement it after everything is finalised. For starters, it will involve the passport-issuing offices in the Klang Valley which are often congested and it may then be expanded to other places.
“We have 77 passport-issuing offices across the country and since 21 of them experience severe congestion, we had to increase working hours including Saturdays and Sundays. This helped ease the congestion,” he said.
Police trying their best
Meanwhile, Saifuddin said the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) receives 395,000 complaints nationwide every month and police are doing their best to solve them while there is no question of turning down any complaint received.
“Often in my discussions with the Inspector-General of Police, I always emphasised that police must take immediate action on complaints involving national security issues and also issues that impinge or are deemed insulting religion, race, country, and royal institutions.
“We also do not overlook the usual complaints such as crime or index (serious) crime.
“We take note of all complaints and we are determined to investigate all complaints… this is also the usual courtesy and respect upheld in Home Ministry agencies including RMP,” he said.
- Bernama

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