Is travelling a hassle nowadays in this modern age?
Marco Polo didn't need any visas or passports during his days. Neither did Cheng Ho or Parameswara. Columbus and Light definitely braved the seven seas in their heydays without such documentation.
It's only modernisation and colonisation that led to the birth of immigration. Though, traces of it have been found since the ancient Hebrew days.
WIth this "modern" problem, one can't even book an online flight ticket if your expiry date of the passport is less than 6 months away. Is this a conspiracy or what?
It's a Monday morning. Government departments normally start at 8am, but this one is hardworking. They start as early as 730am.
The location is found in a nook within the Sri Rampai enclave in Setapak area.
Where the heck is this? Hush hush, it's quite isolated from the masses, distinguishing it from other immigration departments due to its new location.
Cleanliness of the neighbourhood vicinity is not really a top priority for the community there, thus it's no wonder, not many people know of it.
The curent premise is barely 2 years old, after shifting from the ever flooding area of Wilayah Complex, downtown near Campbell Road (It's Jalan Dang Wangi now, for those born post Merdeka!) Flood levels reach up to 2 metres in the basement car park. No wonder records go missing!
In line with our computerisation initiatives in the country, the department has forged ahead with loads of technological gadgets. You can now renew your passport from an automated kiosk. The only condition? Ensure that it's working! Cool acronym (no pun intended!) KIPPAS (which sounds like FAN, translated from Malay)
In true MALAYSIA BOLEH spirit, it is FAULTY. And no technician was seen to be fixing it in the 2 hours I was present.
So, no one ever doubts the tried and tested methods of yesteryear. You can still renew or apply for passports the old fashioned way. Just bring a copy of your current IC and 2 pasport size colour photos and fill in a form (which you can download from the website in PDF format) and print out both sides. That's all the documentation that is required.
The Immigration's neighbour, Mr WONG has been churning out polaroid mug shots for the department for the last 25 years. Now he starts his shop with his spouse as early as 630am! Due to "powers that be", the computerisation projects do not link to the Inland Registration Department (a.k.a. I.C. Dept) As a result you are "forced" to take NEW photos every 5 years (the normal renewal period) for the photos. One would have thought that they could SHARE the photo with the IC Dept. Perhaps it's just a minor side income for Mr WONG and the rest of the competitors around the area.
At RM 10 a pop for 4 photos, printed from his trusty Epson printer (with a complimentary copy of a photocopied IC), the business is very brisk. The Photo Shop can yield up to 700 pass ports a day. Talk about lucrative revenue!
So upon confirmation of your documents, you will be given a queue number from counter #1. The first no of the day managed to collect the passport in half an hour! Quite a record!
All payments are by CASH only at counter #8. So at RM 300 a pop for a measly 32 pages (double that for 64), imagine the collossal daily takings! No worries or agreements with credit card companies.
Assuming an average of 500 passports, at the minimum, the kitty holds 150,000 daily. With 5 day working days, that's a good 3 quarters of a MILLION per week.
Multiply that by about 10 branches, and you have 7.5 million a week. Discounting all the tremendous no of holidays we have in this country, say they work only 40 weeks out of the 52 annualy, that's a hefty 300 million per annum. Just printing paper cards with chips!
Patience for the result can be overcome by having breakfast at nearby premises. You have to option of either Mamak stuff or Non-halal Chinese stuff. I opted for the latter
Kedai Kopi
Pork noodles
Hot Barley
When your number is called, you will proceed to either booth 17 or 18. Sign a form, and your spanking new passport is given to you, with a defunct OLD passport for your memoirs!
Happy travelling, now that Uncle Tony is offering CHEAP FLIGHTS to UK!
