PETALING JAYA: Passport applications cannot be rejected based solely on the applicant’s inability to speak Bahasa Melayu, says the immigration department.
Director-general Ruslin Jusoh said immigration officers will still carry out random checks on various sections of the applications.
“Nonetheless, these checks must be carried out professionally and courteously,” he said in a statement.
He was responding to reports about a Chinese man who was unable to renew his elderly mother’s passport at UTC Komtar, Penang, due to her inability to speak fluent Bahasa Melayu.
Ruslin said the woman had succeeded in renewing her passport and collected it from UTC on Monday.
Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail also previously said that fluency in Bahasa Melayu had never been specified as a condition for obtaining a passport.
He said no passport application had been rejected due to language issues.
However, Saifuddin said Malaysians are expected to possess a basic knowledge of Bahasa Melayu when interacting with staff at government counters to facilitate proceedings.
