The elderly couple was met by Bernama while observing officers from the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) managing a long queue outside the high commission this morning.
Earlier, the couple was allowed to come into the JIM office which is housed in the complex, without having to queue up.
However, they were asked to come back because the passport was not ready yet.
“We were informed that the passport is being printed in Malaysia,” said the wife who wanted to be known as Madam Lee while showing a document asking her husband to come to the JIM office on Feb 16.
Before leaving on a motorcycle, the Singapore permanent resident couple said they would be notified via email once the passport was ready to be collected.
Last week, several Malaysians in Singapore took to social media to show the congestion and long queues for passport renewal outside the high commission.
However, the situation seemed to be under control today with two JIM officers assisted by several security officers doing document screening at the main gate before allowing those in the queue to go inside the high commission.
At around 7.30am, a line of people of about 350m long had been formed, with physical distancing maintained between them.
Some senior citizens and couples who brought children and babies were given priority and did not have to queue. The line eventually shortened at around 9.15am.
On March 19, immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud said system disruptions and a sharp rise in applications had led to the congestion at the JIM office in Singapore.
He said the congestion was also due to walk-in applicants who did not make appointments through the Online Appointment System (STO) as well as the Covid-19-induced border closure, which made it difficult for Malaysians to renew their passports in Johor Bahru or at other branches of the department.
Khairul said JIM was also waiting for approval from the Singapore foreign ministry to allow staff of Datasonic Bhd to enter the country to carry out repair work.
He advised Malaysians in Singapore to renew their passports online and that their applications will be processed and printed within four to five weeks.
Priority in renewing passports was given to Malaysians who needed to extend their work permits in the near future, he said.
According to Khairul, normally, the JIM office in Singapore was able to process 100 passport renewal applications a day but during the Covid-19 pandemic, the applications had increased to 350 a day.
Last week, online renewal applications increased from 200 to 450 per day, with most of the applicants turning up without making an appointment through the STO.