Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali says online renewal and application service will be introduced next month. ― Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

PETALING JAYA, Aug 5 — The people's passport woes will soon be over as they will be able to apply for it online.

Newly-appointed Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said the department aimed to introduce the online renewal and application service next month.

“This is part of our systems upgrade which is aimed at reducing queues at Immigration counters nationwide,” he said.

With this, the public can submit applications online and pick up their passports later the same day.

Mustafar said the department would ensure that passports were issued in an hour in “the next few weeks,” resuming a level of efficiency that was crippled by the shortage that started in May.

He said the shortage of passports would be rectified as the issue of faulty chips in the polycarbonate data page had been resolved.

The former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy chief commissioner said he had met both vendors involved in the supply of passports — Datasonic Group Bhd and Percetakan Keselamatan Negara Sdn Bhd (PKN) — on Wednesday to resolve the shortage.

He said the meeting was also to rectify problems relating to the document which had caused disruptions at exit points.

“It has been agreed the vendors will deliver 70,000 passports weekly to the Immigration Department with immediate effect or a total of 250,000 by the end of the month,” he told Malay Mail.

Mustafar said the developments followed a directive from Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to resolve the shortage immediately.

On July 28, he had instructed PKN to immediately increase the production of passport booklets from 5,000 to 20,000 daily.

Zahid was responding to a series of Malay Mail reports since June 16 that revealed many applicants were unable to renew or obtain new passports due to faulty microchips in the documents.

Mustafar said most passport offices were receiving an adequate number of passports, with some being able to issue the documents the same day.

“We are monitoring the progress stringently. I visited two Immigration offices over the last two days to speak to the people and get their feedback,” Mustafar said, adding a total of 1.46 million passports had been issued between January and last month.

“I do not expect a rush at Immigration offices any more with the new procedures to be put into place,” he said.