Immigration Dept issues 5,140 new Malaysian passports since rollout, says DG

THE Immigration Department has issued 5,140 new Malaysian International Passports (PMA) since Wednesday, as the rollout of the upgraded travel document continues across selected issuing offices nationwide.

Immigration Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the current volume of applications for the new passport remains manageable across the 14 designated issuing offices involved in the initial phase of the rollout.

“Up to yesterday (Thursday), a total of 5,140 new Malaysian passports have been issued,” he said when contacted by Sinar Harian on Friday.

Zakaria stressed that public response to the new passport system has been orderly, noting that the upgraded document is not mandatory and is intended only for applicants who require it.

He added that existing Malaysian passports remain valid for international travel until six months before their expiry date, and urged the public not to rush into replacing their current documents unnecessarily.

“The public also understands that the old Malaysian passport remains valid for use until six months before its expiry date,” he said.

The new Malaysian International Passport features 94 security elements, significantly higher than the 49 security features in the previous version, incorporating both visible and hidden safeguards.

Among the security technologies introduced are guilloche patterns, latent images, rainbow printing, line width modulation, holograms, and ultraviolet (UV) printing, all designed to strengthen protection against forgery, alteration and misuse of the national travel document.

Zakaria had previously said that the upgraded security features include visual, embedded and forensic elements, in line with evolving technological threats and increasingly complex global security requirements.

He also confirmed that the new passport carries a 10-year validity option priced at RM350, while the five-year passport remains at RM200.

The rollout is being implemented in phases, beginning with 14 issuing offices nationwide including the Immigration headquarters, before expanding progressively across multiple stages of deployment. - July 3, 2026