Govt plans new passport with embedded microchips<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government plans to introduce a new kind of passport with a
\nmicrochip embedded in it starting next year in a bid to curb the
\nuse of fake documents commonly used by high profile criminals to
\nflee the country and avoid charges.<\/p>\n
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin said on
\nWednesday the new passport would use an automatic fingerprint
\nidentification system that would be connected to all offices
\nissuing passports in Indonesia and embassies abroad.<\/p>\n
\"As the current contract for firms supplying passport
\nmaterials will end, we will soon open a tender for vendors to
\nprovide the infrastructure to support this goal. We're drawing up
\nthe technical specifications,\" he told House of Representatives
\nCommission III on legal and human rights affairs during a
\nhearing.<\/p>\n
While it was not immediately clear whether the existing fee
\nfor a new passport would be affected, Hamid said current passport
\nholders may voluntarily seek to replace theirs with the new ones
\nonce the new system was in place or wait until theirs expired.<\/p>\n
The new type will have a microchip that contains personal
\ninformation and the fingerprints of the bearer.<\/p>\n
Currently, there is no such a digital, interconnected
\ndatabase, making it possible for people to apply for multiple
\npassports under different names.<\/p>\n
This, Hamid said, was compounded by the fact that one person
\ncan easily possess multiple identification cards, birth
\ncertificates or family cards -- the required documents to apply
\nfor a passport -- issued by the local administration.<\/p>\n
The police recently arrested Sudrajat, a major suspect in a
\ndrug case, who had five different passports. Four were issued by
\nthe West Jakarta immigration office, and the other one was by the
\nCentral Jakarta office.<\/p>\n
Multiple passports issued to one person, according to
\nImmigration Director General Imam Santoso, has also hampered
\ngovernment efforts to control those who may have been banned from
\ntraveling abroad due to involvement in criminal cases.<\/p>\n
\"Thus, this new system is essential to support other judicial
\nmechanisms,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The e-passport, said Imam, has become mandatory for countries
\nunder the International Civil Aviation Organization. The forum
\nannounced last year that such a passport should be in use by
\nOctober 2010 at the latest.<\/p>\n
A total of Rp 2 trillion (US$198 million) will be allocated to
\nfinance a total revamp of the country's immigration
\ninfrastructure, said Hamid, and would be carried out over a
\nperiod of five years.<\/p>\n
Besides renewing the passport system, the revamp would include
\nbetter travel ban supervision and state border management.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-plans-new-passport-with-embedded-microchips-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}