ICAO VERSION OF M'SIAN PASSPORT LAUNCHED

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 2 (Bernama) -- The International Civil Aviation
Organisation(ICAO) version of Malaysian passport, which was launched Tuesday, is
capable of protecting the identity of passport holders and minimising incidence
of forgery, Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said.

He said the new passport was in line with the ministry's objectives to
combat human and drug trafficking which he said often involved the use of fake
passports to fool the authorities.

He added that the ICAO version of the Malaysian passport was forgery-proof
as it had a special security chip which would help the authorities strengthen
control at the country's entry points.

"It will help the immigration to scan high-risk travellers more effectively
apart from facilitating the movement of genuine travellers," he told reporters
after launching the passport at KL International Airport here Tuesday.

He said that the shift from the current e-passport to that of the ICAO was
spurred by the need to secure the integrity of travel documents and putting in
place a standard travel document for ICAO member countries.



"Holders of this new passport will be able to pass through immigration
checks smoothly as they can go through automatic gates in all airports in ICAO
member countries without the need to go to immigration counters," he said.

He added that the government would implement the passport in stages to
ensure there was no wastage in the existing supply.

"The first phase will be implemented in the Klang Valley, Johor and Pahang
from this month. This will be expanded nationwide between March and May, and to
foreign missions abroad between July and August," he said.

He added ICAO version would have only 48 pages.

"The charges remain the same -- RM300 (US$1=RM3.4) for the five-year
validity period and
RM100 for the two-year validity period," he said, adding that current passport
holders could still use the document until it expired.

"The introduction of the ICAO version will not incur the government any
additional cost as it will be implemented based on existing contract," he said.

Malaysia is the 75th country adopting the ICAO passport.

-- BERNAMA



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