The current version of Malaysian passports. Photo courtesy of the official portal of the Sarawak government
Malaysia will roll out a newly designed passport with enhanced security features in the coming six months, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said.
The Malaysian passport has climbed two places to rank 10th in the latest index released by London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, offering visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 181 destinations worldwide.
It is now the second most powerful passport in Southeast Asia, behind Singapore’s.
The upgrade of Malaysia’s passport is essential to preserving its standing and international credibility, Ismail said as quoted by The Star newspaper.
“The new document will be equipped with enhanced security features to safeguard the integrity of the passport and address the risk of counterfeiting,” he said on Jan. 8.
He also urged passport holders not to rush to replace their documents once the new passport is introduced, but to renew them in line with their existing passport expiry dates, Asia One reported.
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