My ordeal in immigration office Kota Kinabalu

This is just to keep a record of what happened at the immigration office this morning – 7^th June 2018. I am collecting material for my fourth book.

A travel agent had asked me to go on a tour of Turkey for 10 days including flight time at RM4500. RM4500 for a tour of Turkey inclusive of flight, accommodation and 3 meals each day is rather cheap.

Unfortunately my passport had expired and I had to go to the immigration office to get my passport renewed.

To avoid the traffic jam I left my house at 6.30am and was in the immigration office by 7am. The counter opened at 7.30 and I was the first person to approach the officer.

I handed my passport and identity card (IC) and the officer told me that my IC had prefix ‘H’ whilst my Passport had Prefix ‘A’. He asked me as to how long I have been a permanent citizen of Sabah and I told him that it has been more than 10 years.

He asked me if I had the letter approving my application for permanent residence. I replied that I don’t know if I still have it. He told me that without that letter he will not be able to issue me a passport.

I demanded to see a senior officer and met a lady officer who was courteous but insistent that without that letter I will not be issued a passport. 

I then asked her that in the absence of the letter what I could do. She asked me to get a letter from the National Registration Department (NRD) confirming that I was a Permanent Resident (PR). 

I rushed over to the NRD and after talking with an officer I was asked to wait while she checked the records. Not long after she came and confirmed that my wife and I are both PR’s. 

She accompanied me to the Immigration office and spoke with the officer at the counter who insisted that I must produce some evidence of entry into Sabah or produce the letter approving my PR.

The IC officer then took me to the 2^nd floor of the immigration office and spoke with an officer there. I was told to wait and the IC officer returned to her office. After a short wait the immigration officer called me and said they will not be able to help. I was also told that there would be no point in seeing the director of immigration as he would direct me back to the officer I am talking with.

I then rushed home to see if my wife has the approval letter. We found the approval letter and rushed back to the immigration office. I brought my wife along as by now there would be no more vacant parking lots at the immigration office.

I met up with the immigration officer and produced the document and requested her to speed up the process as by that time there were already many people applying for passport.

The officer, Puan Azizah, who had been courteous from the beginning bent backwards in speeding up the process.

I received my passport within minutes. I thanked her profusely and rushed home and forwarded my passport details by whatsapp to my travel agent only to be told that the flight price has gone up by RM550. 

Here is an extract of the message from my agent: 

“Mic, now the full cost will be RM4500 + 550 = RM5050.00”.

I decided to cancel my trip.

I don’t blame the immigration officer as I believe she is acting on instruction. I believe this problem I encountered is a result of the IC department issuing identity cards rampantly over the last many years. 

With all the technological advancement why is there no link between the NRD and Immigration office?

Why is it not possible for Immigration to check when and how PR was approved?

On the approval of my PR I was told to bring my passport to the immigration office to have the passport endorsed with the approval of PR. This was done and was stamped at the back of my passport in 2002 which is the date of approval of the PR.

On subsequent application of my passport the officer had overlooked the stamping of the approval in my passport. The immigration office had erred in not changing the prefix in my passport from ‘A’ to ‘H’.

It was because of that stupid mistake by immigration that I had to run around between Immigration office, NRD office and my home. It was because of the immigration’s carelessness that I had to forgo going to Turkey.

In short my friends if you have been issued with an approval letter by immigration please keep it under lock and key if you do not want to go through the same ordeal I had gone through.