Must foreigners in Malaysia carry their passport at all times, because there is a massive operation to weed out illegal foreigners?
Find out what’s the latest viral message, and what the facts really are!
Must Foreigners In Malaysia Carry Passport At All Times?
A viral message has gone out, purporting to be a warning from Malaysia Immigration Director-General Dato’ Indera Khairul Dzaimee Bin Daud, with his picture attached :
All FOREIGNERS residing in Malaysia from now on should carry their PASSPORT with them at all times.
We are on [a] massive OPERATION to weed out all illegal foreigners and to enable us [to] roll out vaccination for our citizens.
FOREIGN Embassies should take note.
Foreigners In Malaysia Must Carry Passport At All Times
Fact #1 : The Viral Message Is Fake, But…
First of all, we should point out that the Malaysia Immigration Department has officially denounced the viral message as FAKE.
That said, we believe that they are referring to the claim of a “massive OPERATION to weed out all illegal immigrants” or that it was “to enable us [to] roll out vaccination for our citizens.”
Before we get to the law, let’s take a look at their statement, with our English translation :
PENAFIAN : BERITA PALSU
Orang ramai dinasihatkan supaya tidak terperdaya dengan BERITA PALSU menggunakan gambar Ketua Pengarah Imigresen.
Segera laporkan kepada Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia jika terdapat sebarang berita yang meragukan supaya tindakan sewajarnya dapat diambil.
DENIAL : FAKE NEWS
The public is advised not to be fooled by the FAKE NEWS using the picture of the Director General of Immigration.
Immediately report to the Malaysian Immigration Department if there is any suspicious news so that appropriate action can be taken.
Fact #2 : Foreigners Must Have Passport / Travel Document At All Times
Even though the message above is FALSE, foreigners should carry their passport or travel document with them at all times during their stay in Malaysia.
According to Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, all foreigners must be able to produce a genuine passport / travel document / entry permit with a valid endorsement / pass upon request.
Failure to produce a valid passport or travel document, with a valid pass, could result in these penalties
- a compound of RM3,000, or
- a fine of up to RM10,000 and/or up to 5 years imprisonment
In their advisory to foreigners, the Malaysian Immigration Department states :
As such foreign visitors are reminded :-
- To take precaution on the safety of their passport / travel document and must carry with them during their stay in Malaysia.
- Must ascertain that they produced their passport / travel document to an Immigration officer at the point of entry and has been issued with the relevant pass.
- To report immediately to the Immigration Department for the lost of their passport / travel document.
So it really doesn’t matter if there is a massive operation to weed out illegal immigrants or not. All foreigners should carry their passport / travel document with them at all times.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
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