Language proficiency not excuse to deny passport renewals, says Immigration DG

Immigration Department director general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh stressed that the department’s officers cannot reject any passport renewal application simply because the applicant fail to converse in the Malay language.

He however said that they can conduct random checks “professionally and with courtesy” to verify the application.

He said this in response to a case where an elderly Chinese woman’s passport renewal application was denied due to her limited command of the Malay language.

Ruslin in a statement today confirmed that the woman was able to renew her passport last Monday.

“We are committed in providing the best service to our customers and we constantly remind all our officers to treat the customers according to the Standard Operating Procedure,” he said.

In a related development Penang Immigration Department director Nur Zulfa Ibrahim confirmed that the officers who caused this controversy were reprimanded.