KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): As of Wednesday (Jan 2), Malaysians who want to renew damaged or missing passports have to cough up RM300 to RM1,200 in penalties.

The directive on the penalties is contained in the Fees (Passports and Visas) (Amendment) Order 2019 dated Dec 20, 2018, which has been gazetted and is now part of the Federal Government Gazette.

The order, which was published on the official website of the Attorney-General's Chambers, was issued by the Secretary of the Cabinet, Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Bakar.

Among others, the order requires that an individual, who wants to replace a lost or damaged passport  (valid for five years) for the first time, pay a fine of  RM400 while a child under 12 and students, aged 21 and below and studying abroad in the same predicaments, be fined RM300 each.

For a second replacement for losing or damaging a passport, the same passport holder groups would be charged RM700 and RM600 respectively, while they would have to pay fines of RM1,200 and RM1,100, respectively, for losing or damaging a passport for the third time.

Last year, the Immigration Department recommended that the government impose penalties for passport replacements as the number of individuals losing the document due to negligence was high. – Bernama