This Provisional Passport was issued on 26 February 1964 by the Passport Office in Singapore. It was made valid until 26 February 1965.

The document number has a letter stamped "E". This probably uses the same prefix for the document issued based on the holder's residency. "A" for Malaya, "E" for Singapore, "H" for Sabah and "K" for Sarawak.

The passport was cancelled and it is assumed that the holder received the newly issued Malaysian booklet passport.

Provisional Passport 1963

On September 16, 1963 (Malaysia Day), the newly formed Federation of Malaysia ended British citizenship for those born in the Federation of Malaya, the State of Singapore (British Self-governance territory), the State of Sarawak (also a British Self-governance territory) and the Crown Colony of North Borneo. As new passport booklets were being ordered from the agent in London, the government resorted to issuing the national passport on large sheet papers between 1963 and 1964. Provisional Malaysian passports were introduced for all Malaysian citizens. This paper passport when unfolded has a dimension of 427 × 340mm.

This paper passport cost M$3 and was made valid for one year. This document was issued from October 1963 until September 1964. The new booklet Malaysian passport was issued on 7 September 1964.

The reason for the use of this document was to allow the transition from 4 different passports used in Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo which were invalidated. When Malaysia was formed; Malayan, Singaporean and British Subject citizenship of Sarawak and North Borneo were abolished.

For dual citizens in Malaya, all the existing Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC) statuses were withdrawn. However, an exception was given to those who have CUKCs in relation to the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca prior to Malaysia Day. It means that only those who were British Subjects born in Penang and Malacca were permitted to have dual citizenship.

M$ (Malayan Dollar or officially known as Malaya and British Borneo dollar) was governed by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo. This currency was the currency of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, North Borneo, Brunei and the Riau archipelago from 1953 to 1967.
 
Permitted countries
 

 

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$3 papers until Malaysian passports are printed
The Straits Times, 3 October 1963, Page 12

KUALA LUMPUR, Wed

THE Government is issuing temporary travel documents to all new applicants while Malaysian passports are being printed. The documents each bearing stamps to the value of $3 are valid for one year. They are being Issued here and in...

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MALAYA: NO RUSH TO GO TO WORK IN BORNEO
The Straits Times, 5 December 1963, Page 12

PENANG, Wed. — There is no discernable trend by Malayans to apply for permits to go to Sabah or Sarawak to seek employment, a spokesman for the Federation immigration headquarters said here today.

He was commenting on a statement by the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Inche Bahaman bin Samsudin, urging Malays to emigrate to the Borneo territories.

Under the Immigration Act of 1963, the spokesman said, citizens residing in Malaya cannot; generally speaking, enter any Borneo State without a permit from the State concerned.

Travellers

Any traveller between Borneo and Malaya would be required to have a passport, but a citizen of Malaysia living in a Borneo State, need not have an immigration permit or pass to come to Malaya or stay in this country.

But he must have a passport, or other travel documents to come here, as required under Section 13 of the Immigration Act of 1963.

Asked to define "other travel documents," the spokesman said normally a passport was required but there were other documents which the Immigration Department recognised.

One of these, an internal travel document, was a sort of modified passport o which citizens would be eligible on its introduction in 1964.

This document would only be good for travelling within Malaysia.

Provisional

The Immigration Department had arranged the issue of provisional passports for one year pending the introduction of new Malaysian passports to replace the Malayan "double tiger" passports.

The new Malaysian passports were expected to be ready by the middle of 1964.

Holders of Malayan passports would eventually have to exchange them for the new ones.

Malayan passports would not be renewed. Their issue had been stopped.

Applicants for the provisional passport, which is good for one year, would normally be advised that unless they wished to travel they should wait for the Malaysian passports, which would be good for five years.

Source: https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19631205-1.2.134

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ORDER PLACED FOR THE NEW PASSPORTS
The Straits Times, 14 February 1964, Page 5

PENANG, Thurs.

THE Malaysian Immigration headquarters have placed an order through the Crown Agents in Britain for the supply of 56,000 new Malaysian passports.

The new passports, which will eventually replace the present Malayan "Double Tiger" passports, are expected to be ready by the middle of this year.

The "double tiger" passports, a spokesman of the Immigration headquarters here told the Straits Times, are being adapted to suit Malaysia.

The new passport will have the Malaysian crest with a 14-point star.

Provisional

The Immigration Department has stopped issuing Malayan passports to Malaysian citizens pending the issue of the new passport.

Applicants are now being given provisional passports to enable them to travel.

"There is no need for anyone going abroad at a future date to apply for provisional passports," the spokesman said.

Source: https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19640214-1.2.39

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Paper passport problems for a tourist
The Straits Times, 20 May 1964, Page 10

I AM writing this in Paris where we arrived by plane from London after difficulties over our paper passports, and I hope I will have no trouble over the passport for the rest of the tour.

I felt it right that the public be informed of the difficulties and expense I have incurred because of my Malaysia Provisional Passport.

The Malaysia Travel Service Ltd., Singapore and the Poly Travel Ltd., London, informed me that the Malaysia Provisional Passport needed no visa for the continent as they arranged for our tour in Europe.

When the tour party reached Ostend, the customs would not allow us to go through because he had never seen Malaysia Provisional Passport. The rest of the party went through to Brussels and to Paris.

The Ostend customs held our passports and made us stay in Ostend for the night. The next morning they put us on board back to England.

As soon as I reached London which was about 4.15 p.m. I went straight to the Poly Travel Office and told them why we were sent back. They got in touch with the London Malaysian Embassy who again confirmed that our paper passports need no visa for the continent except Germany.

On the strength of this confirmation and an assurance that if there was any further difficulties we were to get in touch with the Paris Malaysian Embassy. We took a plane for Paris to join up with the rest of the tour party who had already enjoyed their trip from Brussels.

At the Paris Airport we again met the same difficulties with the police. The Air France people from whom we bought the plane tickets were told by me to get in touch with the Malaysian Embassy in Paris.

After over an hour the police must have been told that our passports were in order.

I am very much concerned over the difficulties and unnecessary extra expense incurred by the holder of a Malaysian Provisional Passport. I am deprived of enjoying the tour from Ostend to Paris for which payment had been made and in addition to incur hotel stay in Ostend 310 francs, train-fare — Dover to London £2, plane fare — London to Paris £19.2.0, taxis fare and other incidentals.

All these extra expense could have been avoided if the Customs at Ostend had allowed us to go with the rest of the party. I do not know whether I could claim these expenses and if so from whom.

ONG CHENG LEONG Paris

Source: https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19640520-1.2.80.1

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Malaysia passport trouble surprises officers
The Straits Times, 22 May 1964, Page 5

KUALA LUMPUR, Thursday.

IMMIGRATION Authorities here expressed surprise over the difficulties faced by a man travelling on a provisional Malaysian passport in Europe.

They said that the Department of Immigration has been issuing 2,000 passports a month since Malaysia Day without complaint.

"This must the odd case out," Mr. A. S. Machado, the Controller of Immigration for the States of Malaya, said when commenting on the case of Mr. Ong Cheng Leong, a retired Singapore civil servant.

Sent back

Mr. Ong flew to Ostend, Belgium, with a party of tourists from London, only to be told by the authorities there that they had never seen such a passport.

He was sent back to London the following morning, while the rest of the party went on to Brussels on their way to Paris. Mr. Ong flew to Paris from London, hoping to catch up with the party there.

At Orly Airport, Mr. Ong was again confronted by the immigration authorities, but this time he called the Malaysian Embassy in Paris which put things right.

Specimens

Mr. Machado said: "It is very unfortunate that Mr. Ong has had difficulties with the provisional Malaysian passport.

"Most overseas missions have been given specimens for transmission to their home offices. In addition, the Malaysian High Commission in London contacted overseas Governments."

In SINGAPORE, a spokesman for the French Consulate-General said that although a reciprocal agreement came into force in September last year, only Malaysians living in Malaya did not require a visa to enter France.

"For the time being Malaysians from Singapore require a visa to enter France," he said.

"It is a matter of time. We are waiting for our Home Office in Paris to give the green light so that citizens from Singapore will also require no visa."

Source: https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19640522-1.2.33

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The paper passport
The Straits Times, 27 May 1964, Page 8

I should like to endorse, most strongly the letter written by Mr. Ong Cheng Leong about the provisional Malaysian Passport.

I received my Provisional Passport in October last year, and was horrified to find that it was a large sheet of paper, more appropriate to the wrapping of fried bananas than the use as an international document of identity.

Apart from one's birth certificate, one's passport is surely the most important document a person can possess.

On landing at Brunei and Bangkok Airports on different occasions my "Passport" was handed to the immigration authorities who, after scrutinising it, then asked to see my passport.

It took a lot of explaining that no real Malaysian Passport existed yet. In Brunei this information was accepted with a knowing shrug of the shoulders, but in Bangkok it occasioned shrieks of laughter and the document was shown to all and sundry, with considerable amusement.

How can we, with pride, call ourselves Malaysians when we do not even have a passport to prove our identity, other than a scruffy sheet of paper?

ANAK SINGAPURA, Singapore

Source: https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19640527-1.2.70.1