Malaysia’s new International Passport (PMA), set to be issued beginning June 1, will come equipped with 94 security features aimed at strengthening the safety and integrity of the country’s travel document.
Immigration Department director-general Zakaria Shaaban said the upgraded passport will include enhanced features such as holograms, ultraviolet (UV) printing and additional security elements embedded within the passport stitching.
He said the current Malaysian passport only carries 49 security features, while the new version nearly doubles that number to make forgery significantly more difficult.
According to him, the rollout of the upgraded passport will begin in stages starting June 1 at four locations — the Immigration headquarters in Putrajaya, the Kuala Lumpur Immigration Office, the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) Wangsa Maju Passport Office and the Shah Alam Immigration Office.
The implementation will then gradually expand nationwide to all branch offices by the end of July.
Zakaria, however, stressed that existing passports remain valid as long as they are still within the expiry period and advised Malaysians not to rush to replace their current passports immediately.
“We hope the public will give the Immigration Department time to carry out the phased rollout smoothly and avoid overcrowding at immigration offices,” he told reporters after the Malaysian Immigration Department Excellent Service Awards 2025 ceremony on Tuesday.
He also reminded applicants not to use photographs generated through artificial intelligence (AI) technology when submitting online passport applications.
“We have received several cases involving this issue,” he added.
