THE Cambridge Dictionary defines the idiom “to wash one’s hands of” as a refusal to shoulder any more blame or responsibility for what happens next.
Such description fits the bill as an unimpressed Malaysian citizen has pounced upon the Immigration Department’s perceived “cuci tangan” attitude over the more-than-10-years passport expiry fiasco.
But first things first.
Immigration Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban has yesterday (Aug 12) advised Malaysians facing online booking issues with extended-validity passports to purchase tickets directly at physical airline service counters for immediate on-the-spot verification.
The department also suspended issuing passports valid past 10 years by offering free replacements.
This seemingly lax attitude towards traveller inconvenience was seized upon by countless Malaysians who thought that the solution is inadequate, never mind the excuse for the gaffe in the first place which was the usual “technical error”.
An example of the irritation expressed by countless frequent flyers was succinctly encapsulated by Threader Ziddni Hilyath (@ziddnihilyath_) who snubbed, “shame on you, KP (DG) Immigration.”
Uncalled for human error
The mistake of issuing passports with a validity of more than 10-year period has caused numerous passengers to be stranded at airports, unable to board their already paid for flights. This also has the spill-on effect of cancelled hotels, holidays and otherwise, carefully laid plans.
To pass the onus onto the Malaysian passport holder to physically buy tickets at an airline counter to ensure proper verification just didn’t sit well with this frustrated frequent flyer.
“What a stupid solution,” was the damning conclusion.
The prevailing sense of confusion and befuddlement was also apparent as travellers scrambled to ensure their documents were in order.
The exasperation experienced by Threader Thong Jean 彤瑾 (@thongjean) was clear for all to see.
Needing to urgently book a flight for January next year, the fitness buff had gone to renew her passport that was expiring mid-2027.
But alas, she was utterly frustration that all her efforts amounted to zilch as she is still unable to book her flight as her passport now contained the 10-years-and-six-month validity error.
Eventually, she had to waste another “three or more hours” at the Immigration Department to get ger passport fixed!
Worse yet was the case of one unfortunate traveller who encountered difficulties in an international airport due to this glitch in passport validity periods.
Shared on Threads by Masrizal Mastor (@lanuntech), an angry traveller wondered as to how could the Immigration Department NOT know of this potential error when it launched its 10-year validity programme for Malaysian passport holders.
Apparently one Nurhamzah Zaid and her travel party were in Zimbabwe and had encountered difficulties at Dubai when the scanners were unable to detect the boarding passes of those with the 10-plus-six passports.
They had passed through Malaysian and Emirates immigration without issue but now find themselves stuck abroad facing uncertainties, difficulties and stress in the return journey home.
So the advice from @lanuntech was extra clear – “now that you know, please ensure that your passport is in order BEFORE committing to any travel plans. The last thing you want is to be stranded abroad like this unfortunate Malaysian(s)”
Lessons learnt
Few things to note about this episode.
Firstly, the public has a right to be annoyed. The offer to rectify the passport sans extra charge doesn’t quite cut it. What about missed connections or cancelled holidays? Who will compensate the traveller?
Worse, what if this mistake caused a person to miss an important family engagement – say, a funeral? Would there ever be sufficient indemnity that could placate the missed goodbye?
Secondly, this technical error should not have happened in the first place as the Malaysian Immigration authorities should have learnt from well-publicised mistakes of their international counterparts, notably the UK.
This reflects poorly on the local Immigration authorities as lacking professionalism. As many citizens rightly asked, “where was the due diligence when the 10-year validity programme was launched?”.
Last but not least, the passing-of-the-buck for this fiasco to the greatly inconvenienced Malaysian public to purchase flight tickets at a physical counter has left many fuming.
It is this lack of accountability, transparency and above all else, the “tidak apa (cannot be bothered) attitude that has left Malaysians with a distinctly negative impression of local civil servants. – Aug 13, 2026
