KOTA KINABALU, July 12 — Malaysians will soon have the option to apply for a passport that will be valid for 10 years, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said today.

He said the Immigration Department is ready to introduce a 50-page passport double the time of the current five-year validity period, just like some other countries in Southeast Asia.

“Yes, we are ready to start issuing a 10-year passport like some of our neighboring countries like Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand

“It will be optional, so those who want five years can still have it, while those who prefer a 10-year passport can pay a little bit more as it will also have more pages,” he said when opening a new passport office at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) here today.

He added that the Immigration Department had studied and found no issue with long-term passports since other countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France have implemented them.

“We have decided we can also head in that direction,” he said.

Asked to elaborate on the expected launch date, Saifuddin Nasution said it would be “in the near future”, adding that he wanted to leave it open-ended for now.