Communications and Digital minister Fahmi Fadzil today told Dewan Rakyat that the government has no intention to collect fingerprints in the implementation of the National Digital ID (NDID) programme. Rumours regarding this were spreading on social media, which he says is inaccurate and misleading.
“Even though the NDID programme is under MIMOS and not KKD (Ministry of Communications and Digital), I take this opportunity to clarify that we do not intend to collect fingerprints,” the minister explained. For context, prime minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on 21 November 2023 that the government had appointed the national research and development centre, MIMOS Berhad, as the implementing agency for the programme with an initial allocation of RM80 million.
Fahmi further clarified that fingerprint information and other biometric identifiers are under the purview of the Home Ministry and the National Registration Department. “The Digital IDD is a single sign-on initiative and this is what we are trying to convey to the people,” he added.
In case you missed it, Anwar revealed during the Budget 2024 tabling in October that the government will be expediting the development of the National Digital ID, with the aim to implement it sometime next year. In general, the digital ID would serve the same purpose as the MyKad, where it can be used to verify your identity for online use. For example, just as you would need to present your identity card as proof when opening a bank account, NDID is intended to fulfil the same purpose for online registrations and such.
On a related note, Fahmi told reporters earlier this week that the National Digital ID will not jeopardise personal data security. He explained that the information in the digital ID will be implemented in a module that will be used by the ministries and eventually the private sector. Further, the minister said that many countries are also adopting this verification approach due to its numerous benefits, including the reduced costs for application development.
