Kuala Lampur, Aug. 13 -- I welcomed Malaysia's 10-year passport when it was introduced on July 1. It was a good policy meant to make life easier for Malaysians. But a vision is only as good as its execution.

The Immigration Department has revealed that about 38,000 10-year passports were issued, with 26,000 carrying validity beyond 10 years because unused validity from old passports was added. Several holders later faced check-in problems with certain airlines overseas. Immigration has since stopped the practice and is offering affected holders free replacements.

Government cannot experiment with Malaysians' passports and then dismiss the problem as a technical issue. This is a serious failure of planning and testing.

The Immigration D...