State Immigration deputy director denies claims that women in Sibu were being told to cover their necks in order for their passport photos to be taken.
PETALING JAYA: Female passport applicants in Sibu are not required to cover their necks when taking photographs for their passports, said the Sarawak Immigration Department.
According to a Borneo Post Online report, department deputy director Hamfatullah Syawal Hamdan clarified that passport applicants were only requested to wear a shawl or blazer if they wore light or bright coloured shirts or tops as this was to ensure sufficient contrast in the black and white photograph later.
“We are following international standards so we would like to advise the public to ensure that they wear a dark coloured shirt or top if they want to renew or apply for a new passport in the future.”
Hamfatullah was responding to claims that a female passport holder was asked to cover up her entire neck with black cloth when she was having her photograph taken for her passport at the Sibu Immigration Office.
The complainant also claimed that the same was asked of other women who renewed their passports in Sibu.
While stressing that passport applicants would not be asked to cover up their necks, he did however add that they would need to remove their spectacles and coloured contact lens for their passport photographs.
-FMT NEWS-
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