Penalties mulled if passport lost, says Immigration D-G

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Immigration Department has proposed that penalities be imposed on passport owners who lost the document.

Its director general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said the proposal had been forwarded to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Home Minister.

He said Ahmad Zahid had agreed on the proposal in principle and it was expected to be enforced after the government’s approval and amendments made under the Fees Act.

“So far there is no penalty imposed on those who have lost their passport compared to those with lost identity cards who are being fined for losing their document for the first, second and third time,” he said.

He disclosed this at a media conference after delivering his New Year address at the department’s monthly gathering here yesterday.

Mustafar said passport owners should be more responsible in taking care of their passport as it was a document with high value and involved costs to the department.

Based on Immigration statistics, a total of 44,528 cases involving the loss of passports were reported nationwide last year.

Among the reasons for the loss of passports were forgetting where it was kept, left behind in public transport, slipped from bag or pocket, stolen or robbed, lost during a fire, moving house or due to natural disasters.

At present the fees imposed for the lost of identity cards for the first time is RM100, second time is RM300 and for the third and subsequent ones is RM1,000.

On misconduct among Immigration staff, Mustafar said 32 employees were sacked last year for various offences, including corruption. — Bernama