Public holiday, school holidays cause of unusual congestion at passport offices in KL, Putrajaya

PUTRAJAYA: The unusual congestion at the Immigration Department's passport application offices in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, today was caused by the closure of offices throughout Selangor due to a public holiday and school holidays.

Today is a public holiday in Selangor in conjunction with the birthday of the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, while the school holidays began on Saturday (Dec 10).

.As such, Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud advised the public to deal with passport offices outside the Klang Valley that are less crowded for passport application matters.

Among the passport offices nearby and less crowded that can be alternatives are those in Seremban, Melaka, Cameron Highlands and Raub in Pahang, Pengkalan Hulu (Perak), Mersing and Kukup (Johor) and Kangar in Perlis.

In addition, passport application matters after this can also be done at passport application offices in Kuala Langat and Kuala Kubu Bharu in Selangor as they are known to be less crowded.

"For those who do not have urgent or emergency needs, they are advised to postpone the passport application first and apply outside of peak hours," Khairul Dzaimee said in a statement.

He also advised the public not to wait until the last minute and to plan their journeys in advance to avoid such congestion.

The Immigration Department via its official TikTok site today uploaded a 51-second video of the unusual congestion at the passport application office in Putrajaya.

-- BERNAMA