(1) This Act may be cited as the Passports Act 1966.
(2) (Omitted).
1A Interpretation cite [+]
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
"Director General" means the Director General of Immigration, the Deputy Director General of Immigration, any Director of Immigration and any Deputy Director of Immigration appointed under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1959/63 [Act 155];
"Director General of Customs and Excise" means the Director General of Customs and Excise appointed under subsection 3(1) of the Customs Act 1967 [Act 235];
"entry" and "enter" means entry and to enter by land, sea or air;
"immigrations officer" and "senior immigration officer" have the meaning assigned to them respectively in the Immigration Act 1959/63;
"master" includes the pilot of an aircraft;
"non-citizen" means a person other than a citizen;
"officer of customs" and "senior officer of customs" have the meaning assigned to them respectively in the Customs Act 1967;
"owner" in relation to a vessel includes a charterer;
"passport" means a valid passport which has been issued to a person by or on behalf of the Government of which he is a subject or citizen and includes any form of valid document of identity issued for the purpose of travel by any Government and recognized as a travel document by the Government of Malaysia;
"police officer" and "senior police officer" have the meaning assigned to them respectively in the Police Act 1967 [Act 344];
"vessel" includes an aircraft.
2 Production of passports upon entry into or departure from Malaysia cite [+]
(1) Every person entering Malaysia from any place beyond Malaysia shall produce to an immigration officer a passport; and that passport shall, in the case of a non-citizen, have a valid visa for Malaysia issued on the authority of and by or on behalf of the Government of Malaysia.
(2) Every person leaving Malaysia for a place beyond Malaysia shall, if required so to do by an immigration officer produce to that officer a passport.
(3) An immigration officer may, in relation to any passport produced under this section, put to any person producing that passport such questions as he thinks necessary; and the person shall answer the questions truthfully.
(4) An immigration officer may make on any passport produced under this section such endorsement as he thinks fit.
3 Entry into or departure from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah or Sarawak cite [+]
Section 2 shall apply to a person entering or leaving *Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah or Sarawak from or to any part of Malaysia, as it applies to a person entering or leaving Malaysia from or to any place beyond Malaysia, as if-
(a) references therein to Malaysia were construed as references to Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah or Sarawak, as the case may be; and
(b) references to a passport were construed as including an internal travel document issued under the Immigration Act 1959/63.
*NOTE-Throughout the Act, references to Peninsular Malaysia shall be construed as including references to the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and the Federal Territory of Labuan - see P.U. (A) 159/1984.
The Minister may by order exempt any person or class of persons from section 2 or 3 or both; and any such exemption may be subject to such conditions as he may direct and may be permanent or for a limited period.
5 Removal of persons unlawfully entering Malaysia cite [+]
(1) Without prejudice to any penalty that may be imposed upon him by this Act, a person entering Malaysia contrary to this Act shall be liable, upon an order in that behalf being made by the Director General, to be removed from Malaysia:
Provided that no such order shall apply to a citizen.
(2) An order made by the Director General under subsection (1), may provide for the detention in custody, for such period as may be necessary for the purpose of making arrangements for his removal, of the person to whom the order applies; and that person may pursuant to the order be detained either in a prison or in any other place appointed by the Director General for that purpose.
(3) Any person to whom an order under subsection (1) applies may be conducted across the frontier or placed on board a suitable vessel by an immigration officer, police officer or officer of customs, and may be lawfully detained on board the vessel during the period that the vessel is within Malaysia or the territorial waters thereof.
6 Expenses of removal cite [+]
(1) Where an order made under subsection 5(1) applies to a person who was brought into Malaysia in a vessel, the master of the vessel and the master of any other vessel belonging to the same owner shall, if required by the Director General and subject to subsection (2), receive that person on board his vessel and afford him free of charge a passage to the port or place at which the person embarked, and proper accommodation and maintenance during the voyage.
(2) A requirement mentioned under subsection (1) shall have no effect unless it is made within twelve months of the date on which the person aforesaid enters Malaysia.
(3) The master of a vessel failing to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.
7 Owners and masters of vessels liable for expenses cite [+]
The master and the owners and agents of any vessel from which any person enters Malaysia contrary to this Act shall be jointly and severally liable for all expenses incurred by the Government in detaining and maintaining that person pending deportation; and the expenses shall be recoverable as a debt due to the Government from the master, owners and agents.
8 Master of a vessel may prevent unlawful entry into Malaysia cite [+]
The master of a vessel may use all reasonable and proper means (including force if necessary) to prevent any person from entering Malaysia contrary to this Act.
If any question arises in any proceedings under this Act, or with reference to anything done or proposed to be done under this Act, as to whether a person-
(a) is a non-citizen or not; or
(b) belongs to any particular class of persons exempted from any of the provisions of this Act,
the onus of proving that the person is not a non-citizen or that he belongs to such class, as the case may be, shall lie upon that person.
