KUALA LUMPUR: The purchase of passport covers at immigration counters is optional for customers, the Dewan Rakyat was informed today.
Addressing concerns about whether immigration officers are authorised to sell passport covers, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the decision to purchase them is entirely up to the customers.
"Regarding the issue raised about whether officers are allowed to sell passport covers, the sale is optional for customers," he added.
"It is entirely up to the customers themselves (to buy the cover)," he said during the question and answer session in Dewan Rakyat, today.
Shamsul Anuar made this statement in response to RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong), who enquired about the ministry's plans to equip immigration officers with body cameras to enhance transparency and accountability.
This follows an incident in which a 23-year-old university student alleged she transferred RM5 to an immigration officer's personal bank account, as instructed, when collecting her renewed and fully paid-for online passport.
The student, who requested anonymity, said she received an email from the immigration department on Nov 26, notifying her that her passport was ready for collection at the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) in Galleri@Kotaraya.
Upon arrival, a female immigration officer handed her the passport and requested an additional RM5 payment.
Subsequently, Johor Immigration Department said that the RM5 fee charged to the university student was for the passport's plastic cover.
Meanwhile, Shamsul Anuar said the ministry plans to equip body cameras for immigration officers in the future.
"This is particularly (for officers stationed) at the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex and Sultan Iskandar Building, which is under the 13th Malaysia Plan allocation."