KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 — Applications for Malaysian passports are now back online, the Immigration Department announced this evening a few hours after its system was forced to shut over a "technical glitch”.

The system was operational again at 1pm, according to the department on its official Facebook page.

"The Immigration Department would like to inform the public that the Malaysian international passport application service resumed normal operations at 1pm,” it said.

"The public can proceed to apply as usual in accordance with the rules and regulations in place.”

The department said it had to suspend all applications temporarily earlier this morning because of technical disruptions to its system, prompting public criticism.

The disruption comes just days ahead of the Aidilfitri celebrations when people would typically travel back to their hometowns.

The Malaysian government reopened its international borders at the start of the month to mark what it calls a transition phase to endemicity, allowing international travel again after nearly two years.

News reports said the move has already drawn thousands of inbound travellers.

Domestic tourism, a key revenue source, has been nearly crippled by the closure of international borders and the movement curbs that prevented people from holidaying locally.