IPOH: The Perak Immigration Department has reopened its full-service counters for the public at the Home Ministry (KDN) Complex in Meru Raya after a four-year closure.

Its director, Meor Hezbullah Meor Abd Malik, said the counters, located on the third floor of the complex, have been ready to serve customers since last Tuesday.

He said the reopening of full-service counters at the KDN Complex is a new initiative by the Immigration Department to help the public obtain passports more quickly, especially in Ipoh.

“In the past, we could issue around 750 new passports at the Immigration Office in the Perak Urban Transformation Centre (UTC), but now we are capable of issuing over 1,100 passports per day in Ipoh.

“We have four other immigration premises in Lumut, Teluk Intan, Taiping and Pengkalan Hulu, which usually can print about 200 to 250 new passports,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.

Meor Hezbullah also said that the reopening of the full-service counters will help reduce peak-time congestion, particularly at the Perak UTC Immigration Office.

“At Perak UTC, services are limited to making or renewing passports, but at the KDN Complex, we have counters for checks and references, providing full services for users to get feedback,” he added.

For now, immigration matters at the KDN Complex can be handled on a walk-in basis without needing to use the Queue Management System (QMS) implemented at Perak UTC.

The KDN Complex immigration service is available from 8 am to 5 pm, Mondays to Fridays.