Sarawak latest to be hit by passport shortage in M’sia

PETALING JAYA — Those intending to renew or apply for travel documents continue to face problems due to a shortage of passports.

Sarawak is the latest state hit with many in Kuching and Miri facing this predicament since last week.

A high ranking official familiar with the issue said close to 20,000 passports were delivered to the Immigration Department in Putrajaya several weeks ago but a large number had defects.

The department issues an average of 220,000 passports a month.

“There is a shortage of supply in several states, including Sabah and Sarawak. This is the second time the department is facing a major shortage of passports in the past few months as the suppliers are unable to cope with the demand.”

The passport shortage fiasco was first exposed by Malay Mail on June 16.

State assemblyman for Pending, Violet Yong, said several of her constituents had expressed dismay as the Immigration Department at the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) in Kuching had not been able to process any applications since Saturday (July 23).

“The department was in complete darkness when I visited it on Monday. An officer there told me they their system was down,” she said.

“There was also a notice pasted on the glass door at the entrance of the department that stated the system was down.”

Baffled over the disruption of such a crucial service, she contacted the Immigration Department headquarters in Kuching.

“I was then informed the department was facing a shortage of passports.”

Ms Yong posted her findings on the Sarawak Update Facebook page on Monday.

She added the official said the department had made a request to Putrajaya and that 1,000 passports were to be sent to the branch on Tuesday.

“But the officer said he doubted they will get 1,000 passports, and will only get 300 instead.

“We’re turning into a laughing stock ... how can we run out of passports?”

A Chinese daily yesterday quoted an official at the Miri Immigration Department as saying the shortage was due to the supplier based in Putrajaya.

The official added other branches nationwide faced a similar problem, adding the offices in Miri had run out of passports and requested another 100 passports “that were snapped up within hours”.

“Miri has since requested for another 400 passports but the new stock would take at least a week to arrive,” he was quoted as saying.

The official also said Putrajaya had only issued 1,000 booklets to Sarawak, which would be distributed to branches in their state.

He said many had renewed and applied for passports just before Hari Raya, with the Miri Immigration Department receiving 6,000 applications per week.

The daily also reported that 1,000 passports given to Kuching had run out.

The Immigration Department is expected to release a statement on the matter on Wednesday.

The supplier, Datasonic Group Bhd, declined comment when contacted.

Many who had wanted to apply for passports expressed their disappointment.

Public relations executive Sheena Prasannan, 26, visited four different Immigration Department offices over the past seven days before getting her passport done yesterday.

While lining up at the department’s office at Plaza Glomac, Kelana Jaya, she was told by those in the line that the centre had a passport quota of 180.

Interior designer Yoshini Jayamanogaren, 39, said it was a “nightmare” to get her passport renewed as she had tried to do so five times over two weeks.

Ms Yoshini said an officer said they could only issue 200 passports there.

In Malay Mail’s June 16 report, it was revealed the department faced a serious shortage of new passports, with Penang, Perak and Johor being the worst hit.

A source had then said the department did not have sufficient stock of passports as a large number of chips used in the data page were rejected by the National Printing Department or the Immigration Department as they were either damaged or failed to meet standards. MALAY MAIL ONLINE