In a letter dated Jan 23, the department said a review by its security and passport division in Putrajaya found that the Sarawak branch had mistakenly entered a federal warning notice restriction code, which caused the renewal application to be blocked.

The code should have been for a Sarawak warning notice, which would have barred technical writer Hafiz Hamid from entering Sarawak, but allow him to renew his passport and travel overseas.

Hafiz’s troubles started in May 2018, when he was denied entry to Sarawak when he went to Sibu to celebrate Gawai with friends. Immigration officers showed him a notice indicating he was on a “suspects list”.

In 2020, he was unable to renew his passport after it expired, and he was told the reason was a “block placed by Sarawak immigration”.

The department’s letter this month was in reply to a letter of demand issued by his lawyer, Shamsher Singh Thind.

It said the federal restriction has been lifted, and Hafiz may now renew his passport at any passport office. However, the Sarawak restriction remains active.

Under the constitution, Sarawak has controls over its own immigration affairs.

Hafiz said he was relieved to finally be able to renew his passport after years of uncertainty.

Thanking FMT for highlighting his plight, he said: “In the end, I’m happy to get my passport after a seven-year struggle.”