The government will expedite the development of the National Digital Identity (IDN) digital self-identification and verification system. This was announced earlier by Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Prime Minister, during the Budget 2024 tabling earlier.
In general, IDN would serve the same purpose as the MyKad, which is to verify your identity, except over the internet. Rather than replacing the physical identity card, it would instead replace the need for individuals to remember log in IDs and passwords. Just as you would need to be present with your identity card as proof of your identity when opening a bank account, the idea of IDN is to allow people to do the same over the internet.
"Bagi mempertingkatkan lagi tahap kecekapan perkhidmatan awam, pembangunan Identiti Digital Nasional (IDN) akan disegerakan sebagai platform pengesahan diri yang dipercayai.#Belanjawan2024 #EkonomiMADANI"
— Ministry of Finance🇲🇾 (@MOFmalaysia) October 13, 2023
Of course, this would also come with other possibilities. The list includes allowing medical practitioners to get access the medical records of patients via IDN, and prescribe appropriate medication, or allowing for online voting, among others.
This IDN initiative was first announced back in 2021, with the implementation planned for 2024. With that in mind, the government has announced the creation of the GovTech Nucleus Unit to facilitate its development.
(Source: Astro Awani / YouTube, JPN, MCMC)
