'System Down' And Passport Shortage Cause Major Disruption To Travel Plans
A nationwide problem.
By Tang Ruxyn — 28 Jul 2016, 12:27 PM
Malaysians who are due to renew their passports found themselves disappointed and frustrated when they could not proceed with the application at various Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) outlets or at the Immigration offices lately
According to a news report by Malay Mail yesterday, 27 July, many applicants in the Klang Valley were told by the officers on duty that all the numbers for the day were had already been given out, and that the system was down.
One of them was even told to start queueing at 5.30am the next day. In their desperate attempt to get their passport done in a day, many people chose to dash from one office to another in hopes of securing a slot.
While some of these Malaysians' attempt were successful not many are as fortunate, as they were made to make several visits to the Immigration offices on different days. Even so, they have not been able to get their passport done.
"I came here last Saturday, on Tuesday and yesterday, and all three times, the reasons were the same ... the system had gone offline," said a student, who only wished to be known as Ng.
"It doesn’t make sense."
24-year-old student Syaza Amirah Ahmad Shapani said that she has been trying to renew her passport with a friend for two days but their attempts have been unsuccessful.
“It all doesn’t make sense ... when I asked the officer here just now, he said 90 numbers were given out as a test because they said the system was down," she was quoted as saying by Malay Mail.
"How is it that the UTC is open until 10pm and numbers have run out in the morning? I asked the officer what happens if the numbers are finished and no one else was queueing up, he said they just sit and do nothing until 10pm. It doesn’t make sense."
On top of these issues, several Immigration Department's branches in Sarawak and elsewhere in the country reportedly experienced a shortage of passports over the weekend
According to Malay Mail Online, a source within Putrajaya revealed that close to 20,000 passports were delivered to the Immigration Department in Putrajaya several weeks ago. However, a large number of these passports had defects.
It was reported that 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."
Earlier on 16 June, Malay Mail led an exposé on the passport shortage fiasco, where a high number of passports had been rejected by the National Security Printers and Immigration Department for being damaged or failing to meet standards.
Meanwhile, DAP assemblywoman Violet Yong has urged the government to be transparent about the issue and resolve passport shortage problem
“We would like to call the immigration department to be transparent and to let the public know why there’s such a shortage,” DAP assemblywoman Violet Yong told the media yesterday, 27 July.
Yong, who is Pending assemblywoman, said services have resumed in UTC Kuching, but with a limited stock of passports. She said she received feedback from constituents that hundreds of applicants had been turned away due to the shortage.
"There must be a reason why there’s a shortage, but I believe they refuse to let the public know, and this is unacceptable. The public should not be kept in the dark on this matter," she said.