2 December 2016
The e-visa system introduced by Malaysia a few months ago is becoming popular with more number of Indians opting for the online route to obtain visa to visit that country.
The office of the Consulate General of Malaysia for South India in Chennai issues about 500 electronic visas every day ever since the system was introduced on April 15. Consul General of Malaysia for South India A. Fajarazam told The Hindu here on Monday that the Malaysian government had introduced the electronic visa system as it was cheaper, faster and more efficient.
The electronic visa was an improvement made in the issue of visa in addition to the regular system. The office of the Consulate General of Malaysia for South India issued about 2.50 lakh visas annually. The figure had been rising every year. With the introduction of e-visa system, it would increase further, Mr. Fajarazam said. He said around 7.25 lakh Indian tourists visited Malaysia in 2015. Of them, 65 to 70 per cent were from south India.
Two cities on radar
Malaysia, he said, was very keen to operate its carriers to South Indian cities of Coimbatore and Madurai as well in view of the huge potential.
This was put forth during the visit of Malaysian Minister of Transport Liow Tiong Lai to India in March. The same was reiterated by Malaysian Deputy Minister of Education P. Kamalanathan during his brief visit to Tamil Nadu recently.
Credit: The Hindu
