Over 9,000 passports applied online yet to be collected

PUTRAJAYA: More than 9,000 Malaysian international passports (PMA), which were applied and renewed online, have yet to be collected, said Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

As such, he urged those who had made PMA applications to immediately collect them at passport issuing offices nationwide to avoid their passports being cancelled.

Previously, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said Malaysians who have renewed their passports online must collect the document immediately to avoid it being disposed of within 90 days.

Khairul Dzaimee, in the same statement, also announced new operating hours for all PMA issuing offices and Urban Transformation Centres (UTC) in Peninsular Malaysia effective Aug 15 following the statistical trend of PMA applications showing a decrease in night sessions.

PMA issuing offices in all states and branches will operate from 8 am to 7 pm on weekdays, except for Perlis, Pahang, Terengganu and Kedah which will operate from 8 am to 5 pm.

Meanwhile, PMA issuing offices in all states and branches will operate from 8 am to 12.30 pm on Saturdays, except for Perlis, Pahang, Terengganu and Kedah.

UTC offices will operate from 8 am to 9 pm on weekdays, except for Perlis, Pahang, Terengganu and Kedah which will be open from 8 am to 5 pm.

All UTC offices, including in Perlis, Pahang, Terengganu and Kedah, will operate from 8 am to 5 pm on weekends.

Previously, the operating hours in six passport issuing offices and Immigration Department counters have been extended until 10 pm while six others have been extended until 6 pm since May 11 to facilitate Malaysians to obtain their PMAs.

The six premises where the operating hours have been extended until 10 pm are in Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka and until 6 pm in Penang, Kedah, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis.

-- BERNAMA