The imposition of RM200 to RM1,000 penalty for the replacement of lost Malaysian passport due to deliberate negligence is implemented to educate the people to be more responsible citizens, said Immigration director-general, Mustafar Ali.

He said the proposal for the penalty was well-received by the government, especially Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as this would teach people to be more responsible in taking care of this valuable document.

"We can't simply lose this important document and use carelessness as an excuse, so I had recommended for the penalty imposition and thankfully the government agreed to the proposal," he told a press conference here today.

He said those who lose their passports through calamities that could not be avoided such as theft, fire, flood or others were required to lodge a police report and the case would be investigated.

The penalty for lost passport including a restriction on issuance for recurrent passport loss is expected to be implemented soon.

In the meantime, on Malaysia's success in upgrading its status from Tier Two Watch List for 2016 to Tier Two in the 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report, Mustafar said this was due to the government's full commitment to resolving the issue.

"From 2014 to May this year, 140 human trafficking cases were recorded and these involved sex trafficking, forced labour and migrant smuggling," he said.

- Bernama