KUALA LUMPUR – Immigration officers are not allowed to reject applications based solely on the applicant’s proficiency in the national language, according to Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh.
He also clarified that it is regular practice for immigration officers to conduct checks from various angles when reviewing applications.
“But these reviews should be conducted professionally and carried out in a courteous manner,” he said in a statement.
Ruslin was commenting on the reports of a man who couldn’t renew his mother’s passport because she didn’t speak Bahasa Malaysia fluently.
This event, which garnered attention on social media, took place at the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) in Penang.
Ruslin said the customer in question had successfully renewed her passport and collected it from the UTC Penang office on April 22.
The department, he said, is committed to providing excellent service to customers and consistently reminds all officers to treat customers in accordance with the standard operating procedures established by the department.
It was reported recently that an elderly woman was allegedly denied renewal of her passport at the UTC office in Komtar, purportedly due to her limited proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia.
Following the incident, the woman’s son took to social media to share about the encounter, and the post has gone viral since. – April 24, 2024