The COVID-19 pandemic has, unfortunately, put a stop to a lot of things.

One thing we miss the most is travelling to another country, learn about their culture and generally, have a great time.

While we Malaysians are stuck at home, our passport has apparently been going places.

Malaysian passport levelling up

The Malaysian passport has gained a few places in the 'world's most powerful passport' ranking, The Star Online reported.

According to the newest edition of the Henley Passport Index, the Malaysian passport is now ranked the 13th most powerful in the world.

In Southeast Asia, we occupy the second spot, right behind our neighbour Singapore.

That's not too shabby.

When can we make use of our passport again?
Based on the data collected by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Malaysian passport holders current have visa-free access to 177 countries in the world.

The top three most powerful passports in the world belong to Asian countries - Japan, Singapore and South Korea respectively.

The Henley Passport Index is the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations holders could access without a prior visa.

We are praying that we get the pandemic under control soon so that we can get make full use of our passport.