Passport
My passport is expiring in September of 2007. I had called the Malaysian Consulate in Washington, DC in November of last year. The Malay girl told me I need to call the Consulate in New York city because of where I’m located. I called the NY city number and this girl asked me where I’m located, and when my passport expires. She then told me I should call back six months before my passport expires. I then asked this Malay girl what I needed to send to the Consulate to renew a passport. She said she couldn’t tell me unless she sees my passport. I asked her don’t I have to complete a renewal application form, she said “Oh yah you do. Call back next year closer to the expiry date and I can tell you what to do.” God Almighty, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard.
So, April is the month where I should call them guys. I called the Consulate in New York city, no answer or answering machine. I called the Washington, DC number and it kicked me right to a recorded message. It says the embassy is close due to a holiday in Malaysia and then if you want directions press…9, or passports and visas, press 1.
Pressed 1 I did which took me to more crap on visas. “For more information on passport renewal, please press 1.” I was so ready to slam the damn receiver, but I didn’t; I pressed 1. All the instructions were there. Apparently, the passport will be mailed to Malaysia to be processed and it will take 6 or more months to get it back to the holder.
I tried again at 8:30 central time and wohoo, I’m so thrilled, someone picked up the phone, “Embassy Malaysia”. Told her I want to renew my passport. “Blank”….for a minute or so, did not say “Please hold” or “One moment please”….more silence…..then “Your call has been forwarded to… Diana Mohammad Esa, is not in……bleh bleh bleh”.
I left this Diana girl a message to return my call on the passport renewal process. I’m hoping she will get back to me soon. I feel more confident speaking to a real person and taking their instructions than doing what the machine says to do.
I tried calling the NY city number an hour ago and no answer. What the fuck, the Malaysian Embassy in NY city close shop is it?
April 3rd, 2007 at 10:28 am
If you swim the Rio Grand you don’t need to fiddle with all of that paper work.
Maybe the Embassy is celebrating April Fools.
Good luck getting your passport renewed. I cringe thinking of dealing with a bureaucracy. *cringes* Waitaminute. I work for a bureaucracy. *cringes*
April 3rd, 2007 at 8:59 pm
So the service still sucks eh?
By the way, Cooper and Ranger look gorgeous! :)
…and yeah, I’m a dog lover too (a labrador lover at that!)
April 3rd, 2007 at 10:49 pm
aiyo…i hate calling up the immigration ppl to ask anything. takes them centuries to pick up the phone and not including the number of NUMBERS u have to press to supposedly reach the right person. i went thru hell when applying for my visa and i wonder if i have to go thru it again when the visa xpires. aiyooo….
April 3rd, 2007 at 11:23 pm
last time, i sent in my old passport, picture with blue background, $$$..and the application form. Took them almost a year to send my passport back to me because according to them, they had to send the passport cabk to Msia to renew it.
You might want to keep calling them.
Good Luck!1
April 4th, 2007 at 1:42 am
Whenever there is a public holiday in Malaysia, the Malaysian embassies will be closed.
This is the same with all embassies. This not a Malaysian thing only.
But it can get so frustrating when you happen to call on that paticular day, especially when you take the time to call them. And just spoke to a machine.
Mother once had to wait a week for the Chinaembassy to reopen. There was a week of holiday in China.
April 4th, 2007 at 6:22 am
SA – won’t that be great? Yeah, the Embassy must be celebrating some sort of Fools’ day.
GT – Thanks for visiting my blog. I should have known about their service!!!
Yvy – aiyo is right, I was aiyo-ing the whole morning yesterday. I suppose it’s the same in every country.
LP – one year??? sei for lor, how to go back this year? Did you send the passport, application, and etc. to the NYC or DC office?
AN – yeah, guess I should have checked it out first but it didn’t even occur to me. will try calling them this morning and tomorrow if I don’t hear from this Diana girl.
April 4th, 2007 at 7:57 am
If you do the passport in Malaysia itself it only takes a day. That is after our PM Badawi paid a visit to the Immigtation. Since then they have a major revamp in the immigration.
So, maybe it won’t take a year. Half a year…..maybe. :)
Why don’t you ask VH ? Why he returned home to renew his instead of doing it there ?