As of Wednesday (January 2), Malaysians are to cough up RM300 to RM1,200 to renew damaged or missing passports. — AFP pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 — As of Wednesday (January 2), Malaysians are to cough up RM300 to RM1,200 to renew damaged or missing passports.

The directive on the penalties is contained in the Fees (Passports and Visas) (Amendment) Order 2019 dated December 20, 2018 which has been gazetted as a Federal Government Gazette.

The order, which was published on the official website of the Attorney-General’s Chambers, was issued by the Secretary of the Cabinet, Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Bakar.

Among others, the order requires that an individual who wants to replace a lost or damaged passport (valid for five years) for the first time to pay a fine of RM400 while a child under 12 years and students of the age of 21 years and below studying abroad, in the same predicaments, will be fined RM300 each.

For a second replacement for losing or damaging a passport, the same passport holder groups would be charged RM700 and RM600 respectively, while they would have to pay fines of RM1,200 and RM1,100, respectively, for losing or damaging a passport for the third time.

Last year, the Immigration Department recommended that the government imposed penalties for passport replacements as the number of individuals losing the document due to negligence was high. — Bernama