Malaysia International Passport
Passport Holder's Identity Page
Size TD3 (125 × 88 mm / 4.92 × 3.46 in)
The Malaysian passport includes the following data:
Type/Jenis ('P' for Passport)
Country code/Kod Negara ('MYS' for Malaysia)
Passport number/Nombor Pasport
Name of bearer/Nama (see below for details of the naming scheme)
Nationality ('Malaysia')
Identity number (see below for more information) or Birth certificate number (for minors under 12 only)
Place of birth (State of birth for citizens born in Malaysia)
Date of birth (in DD-MMM-YYYY format, such as 24-JUN-1988)
Sex ('M' or 'F')
Date of issue (in DD-MMM-YYYY format)
Date of expiry (in DD-MMM-YYYY format, 5 years from date of issue, or a maximum of 5 years 6 months for renewals)
Issuing office
Height/Tinggi (in centimetres)
Person Naming Scheme
Due to Malaysia's heterogeneous ethnic demographic, including substantial Chinese and Indian minorities as well as Malays, the name of the bearer on the Malaysian passport is displayed using that person's customary naming practice as it is on the person's identity card (MyKad) or birth certificate (with exception of ethnic Indian and Thai names). Surname and given name fields are not differentiated on the passport, and this can cause difficulties or confusion in some countries as the placement of the surname is not consistent.
Technically speaking, every Malaysian name regardless of the ethnicity is of this type: SURNAME, FIRST NAME UNKNOWN (FNU) when only the Machine Readable Zone area of the Passport Biodata Page is considered. There is no '<<' to isolate what is technically a 'Surname' from the 'Given Name' (Please note that ICAO standards require that the name that immediately follows the three-letters country code in the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) to be the surname of the passport holder). When swiped at international airports for border security purposes, for example: the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) for countries such as Australia, New Zealand and United States, the name of a Malaysian passport holder in its entirety will be captured in the 'Surname' field of the border security system, and this can sometimes cause a mismatch with how the passport holder's name is captured in the country of destination's visa system or electronic travel authority protocol.
Chinese names: can be listed in three ways according to the individual's preference: surname first as is customary (surname first, then Chinese given names: "WONG Kim Siong"), surname between given names (non-Chinese derived name, surname, Chinese given names: "David WONG Kim Siong"), or in the Western style of surname last (David WONG)
Malay names: Generally in the format "X BIN/BINTI Y", where 'BIN' means 'son of' and 'BINTI' means 'daughter of', similar to the Arabic name system. This practice is not limited to Muslim Malays however, and can also be found in Christian indigenous Sabahans and Melanaus of Sarawak.
Ethnic Indian and Thai names: On the national identity card MyKad and birth certificates, Indian and Thai names are generally in the format "X A/L Y" or "X A/P Y" where 'A/L' stands for 'anak lelaki' (Malay for 'son of') and 'A/P' stands for 'anak perempuan' (Malay for 'daughter of'). On the passport detail page, the "A/L" or "A/P" designation is omitted. However, the bearer's full name as on his/her MyKad is noted on the observation page.
Native Sarawakian and Orang Asli names: Generally in the format "X ANAK Y" or "X AK Y" where 'Anak' or 'AK' means 'child of'. 'AK' abbreviation for 'ANAK'
Western/European names: Eurasian Malaysians, or those descended from British, Portuguese or Dutch settlers, have the person's hereditary surname last ("Robert SMITH").
Machine Readable Zone
P
'P' stands for Passport and 'MYS' stand for Malaysia
A machine-readable passport (MRP) is a machine-readable travel document (MRTD) with the data on the identity page encoded in optical character recognition format. Many countries began to issue machine-readable travel documents in the 1980s. They are standardized by the ICAO Document 9303 (endorsed by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission as ISO/IEC 7501-1).
Passport booklets are issued in "Type 3" format. The machine-readable zone of a Type 3 travel document spans two lines, and each line is 44 characters long. The following information has to be provided in the zone: name, passport number, nationality, date of birth, sex, passport expiration date and personal identity number.
So here is the example MRZ
Ptiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
#########CbbbYYMMDDCsyymmddCppppppppppppppCX
All fields are padded with less than signs (<) to fill the required width. There should be no whitespace in the MRZ. Only letters A through Z, digits 0 through 9, and the filler character < are allowed. Some extended letters are mapped to other sets of characters per the following table. The alternate encoding is used when the normal encoding might caused confusion between different names.
P - Passport
The first letter is "P", designating a passport.
t - Passport Type
The second character can be assigned by the issuing country to distinguish different types of passports. If unused a < is assigned.
In the example above there is a <, apparently the fictional country of Utopia doesn't specify specific types, or Anna doesn't need one.
iii - Issuing Country or Organization
The issuing country or organization, encoded in three characters.
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn - Name
This field is the passport holder's name. The general format is "LAST<NAME<<FIRST<NAME<ADDITIONAL<NAMES<<<<<". The name is entirely upper case. Puncuation (like hyphens) are replaced with the filler character < The surname is given first, then the filler character twice (<<), then the remainder of given names. Separate names in the surname or given name are separated with the filler character < The filler character < pads out the field to fill 39 characters.
If the name is too long to fit the most significant parts of the name are used. Names may abbreviated if necessary to make them fit.
######### - Passport Number
This is the passport number, as assigned by the issuing country. Each country is free to assign numbers using any system it likes. If the number has non-letter or number characters they are replaced with the filler character <.
C - Check digit
Check digits are calculated based on the previous field. Thus, the first check digit is based on the passport number, the next is based on the date of birth, the next on the expiration date, and the next on the personal number. The check digit is calculated using this algorithm.
bbb - Nationality
The issuing country or organization, encoded in three characters.
YYMMDD - Date of Birth
The date of the passport holder's birth in YYMMDD form. Year is truncated to the least significant two digits. Single digit months or days are prepended with 0.
In the example Anna was born in August 6th, 1969. That encodes as 690806.
s - Sex
Sex of the passport holder, M for males, F for females, and < for non-specified.
yymmdd - Passport Expiration Date
The date the passport expires in YYMMDD form. Year is truncated to the least significant two digits. Single digit months or days are prepended with 0.
Anna's passport expired on June 23rd, 1994 and is encoded 940623.
pppppppppppppp - Personal Number
This field can be used for any purpose that the issuing country desires.
For Malaysian passport, this field contains National Registration Identity Card Number in the format YYMMDDSSNNNG
For example, a person's NRIC number is 831011225599, this field is encoded 831011225599<<.
X - Final check digit
This is a check digit for positions 1 to 10, 14 to 20, and 22 to 43 on the second line. Thus, the nationality and sex are not included in the check. The check digit is calculated using the algorithm mentioned below.
Check Digit Calculations
First, break the input into individual characteres and numbers.
Next, convert non-digits into numbers. A through Z are encoded to 10 through 25. The filler character < is encoded as 0.
< A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
0 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Now, multiply each number by the corresponding weighting. The first digit is multipled by 7, the next by 3, and the next by 1. The pattern then repeats (7, 3, 1, 7, 3, 1, 7, 3, 1, etc).
Add up the results, then divide by 10. The remainder is the check digit.
As a special case, if the personal number on the second line is not used (and thus entirely filled with the filler character <), the check digit for that section can be replaced with the filler character <.
An example for the input AB2134:
Input: A B 2 1 3 4 < < <
Value: 10 11 2 1 3 4 0 0 0
Weight: 7 3 1 7 3 1 7 3 1
Products: 70 33 2 7 9 4 0 0 0
Sum: 70 + 33 + 2 + 7 + 9 + 4 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 125
Division: 125 ÷ 10 = 12, remainder 5
The Malaysian passport includes the following data:
Type/Jenis ('P' for Passport)
Country code/Kod Negara ('MYS' for Malaysia)
Passport number/Nombor Pasport
Name of bearer/Nama (see below for details of the naming scheme)
Nationality ('Malaysia')
Identity number (see below for more information) or Birth certificate number (for minors under 12 only)
Place of birth (State of birth for citizens born in Malaysia)
Date of birth (in DD-MMM-YYYY format, such as 24-JUN-1988)
Sex ('M' or 'F')
Date of issue (in DD-MMM-YYYY format)
Date of expiry (in DD-MMM-YYYY format, 5 years from date of issue, or a maximum of 5 years 6 months for renewals)
Issuing office
Height/Tinggi (in centimetres)
Person Naming Scheme
Due to Malaysia's heterogeneous ethnic demographic, including substantial Chinese and Indian minorities as well as Malays, the name of the bearer on the Malaysian passport is displayed using that person's customary naming practice as it is on the person's identity card (MyKad) or birth certificate (with exception of ethnic Indian and Thai names). Surname and given name fields are not differentiated on the passport, and this can cause difficulties or confusion in some countries as the placement of the surname is not consistent.
Technically speaking, every Malaysian name regardless of the ethnicity is of this type: SURNAME, FIRST NAME UNKNOWN (FNU) when only the Machine Readable Zone area of the Passport Biodata Page is considered. There is no '<<' to isolate what is technically a 'Surname' from the 'Given Name' (Please note that ICAO standards require that the name that immediately follows the three-letters country code in the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) to be the surname of the passport holder). When swiped at international airports for border security purposes, for example: the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) for countries such as Australia, New Zealand and United States, the name of a Malaysian passport holder in its entirety will be captured in the 'Surname' field of the border security system, and this can sometimes cause a mismatch with how the passport holder's name is captured in the country of destination's visa system or electronic travel authority protocol.
Chinese names: can be listed in three ways according to the individual's preference: surname first as is customary (surname first, then Chinese given names: "WONG Kim Siong"), surname between given names (non-Chinese derived name, surname, Chinese given names: "David WONG Kim Siong"), or in the Western style of surname last (David WONG)
Malay names: Generally in the format "X BIN/BINTI Y", where 'BIN' means 'son of' and 'BINTI' means 'daughter of', similar to the Arabic name system. This practice is not limited to Muslim Malays however, and can also be found in Christian indigenous Sabahans and Melanaus of Sarawak.
Ethnic Indian and Thai names: On the national identity card MyKad and birth certificates, Indian and Thai names are generally in the format "X A/L Y" or "X A/P Y" where 'A/L' stands for 'anak lelaki' (Malay for 'son of') and 'A/P' stands for 'anak perempuan' (Malay for 'daughter of'). On the passport detail page, the "A/L" or "A/P" designation is omitted. However, the bearer's full name as on his/her MyKad is noted on the observation page.
Native Sarawakian and Orang Asli names: Generally in the format "X ANAK Y" or "X AK Y" where 'Anak' or 'AK' means 'child of'. 'AK' abbreviation for 'ANAK'
Western/European names: Eurasian Malaysians, or those descended from British, Portuguese or Dutch settlers, have the person's hereditary surname last ("Robert SMITH").
Machine Readable Zone
P
'P' stands for Passport and 'MYS' stand for Malaysia
A machine-readable passport (MRP) is a machine-readable travel document (MRTD) with the data on the identity page encoded in optical character recognition format. Many countries began to issue machine-readable travel documents in the 1980s. They are standardized by the ICAO Document 9303 (endorsed by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission as ISO/IEC 7501-1).
Passport booklets are issued in "Type 3" format. The machine-readable zone of a Type 3 travel document spans two lines, and each line is 44 characters long. The following information has to be provided in the zone: name, passport number, nationality, date of birth, sex, passport expiration date and personal identity number.
So here is the example MRZ
Ptiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
#########CbbbYYMMDDCsyymmddCppppppppppppppCX
All fields are padded with less than signs (<) to fill the required width. There should be no whitespace in the MRZ. Only letters A through Z, digits 0 through 9, and the filler character < are allowed. Some extended letters are mapped to other sets of characters per the following table. The alternate encoding is used when the normal encoding might caused confusion between different names.
P - Passport
The first letter is "P", designating a passport.
t - Passport Type
The second character can be assigned by the issuing country to distinguish different types of passports. If unused a < is assigned.
In the example above there is a <, apparently the fictional country of Utopia doesn't specify specific types, or Anna doesn't need one.
iii - Issuing Country or Organization
The issuing country or organization, encoded in three characters.
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn - Name
This field is the passport holder's name. The general format is "LAST<NAME<<FIRST<NAME<ADDITIONAL<NAMES<<<<<". The name is entirely upper case. Puncuation (like hyphens) are replaced with the filler character < The surname is given first, then the filler character twice (<<), then the remainder of given names. Separate names in the surname or given name are separated with the filler character < The filler character < pads out the field to fill 39 characters.
If the name is too long to fit the most significant parts of the name are used. Names may abbreviated if necessary to make them fit.
######### - Passport Number
This is the passport number, as assigned by the issuing country. Each country is free to assign numbers using any system it likes. If the number has non-letter or number characters they are replaced with the filler character <.
C - Check digit
Check digits are calculated based on the previous field. Thus, the first check digit is based on the passport number, the next is based on the date of birth, the next on the expiration date, and the next on the personal number. The check digit is calculated using this algorithm.
bbb - Nationality
The issuing country or organization, encoded in three characters.
YYMMDD - Date of Birth
The date of the passport holder's birth in YYMMDD form. Year is truncated to the least significant two digits. Single digit months or days are prepended with 0.
In the example Anna was born in August 6th, 1969. That encodes as 690806.
s - Sex
Sex of the passport holder, M for males, F for females, and < for non-specified.
yymmdd - Passport Expiration Date
The date the passport expires in YYMMDD form. Year is truncated to the least significant two digits. Single digit months or days are prepended with 0.
Anna's passport expired on June 23rd, 1994 and is encoded 940623.
pppppppppppppp - Personal Number
This field can be used for any purpose that the issuing country desires.
For Malaysian passport, this field contains National Registration Identity Card Number in the format YYMMDDSSNNNG
For example, a person's NRIC number is 831011225599, this field is encoded 831011225599<<.
X - Final check digit
This is a check digit for positions 1 to 10, 14 to 20, and 22 to 43 on the second line. Thus, the nationality and sex are not included in the check. The check digit is calculated using the algorithm mentioned below.
Check Digit Calculations
First, break the input into individual characteres and numbers.
Next, convert non-digits into numbers. A through Z are encoded to 10 through 25. The filler character < is encoded as 0.
< A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
0 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Now, multiply each number by the corresponding weighting. The first digit is multipled by 7, the next by 3, and the next by 1. The pattern then repeats (7, 3, 1, 7, 3, 1, 7, 3, 1, etc).
Add up the results, then divide by 10. The remainder is the check digit.
As a special case, if the personal number on the second line is not used (and thus entirely filled with the filler character <), the check digit for that section can be replaced with the filler character <.
An example for the input AB2134:
Input: A B 2 1 3 4 < < <
Value: 10 11 2 1 3 4 0 0 0
Weight: 7 3 1 7 3 1 7 3 1
Products: 70 33 2 7 9 4 0 0 0
Sum: 70 + 33 + 2 + 7 + 9 + 4 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 125
Division: 125 ÷ 10 = 12, remainder 5