RAHMAN stops at a tollbooth, flashes his ID card and the blockade bar opens. He drives to a nearby ATM, takes out his ID and uses it to cash out RM200 for his son’s school fees.

On his way home, he is stopped at a police roadblock, and asked to produce his driving licence. Rahman again whips out the same credit card-sized ID.

This could be a typical scenario for the 2.6mil Malaysians who are currently owners of MyKad, the smart national ID card.

Incorporating a microprocessor, or computer chip, that has the capability to perform a variety of functions similar to a mini computer, MyKad is the world’s first multi-purpose, chip-based national ID card project.

It also features biometric technology – the use of a person’s biological data such as fingerprints or iris scan – for high-level verification. In the case of MyKad, it is our thumbprint.

“Malaysia is the first country to have a smart national ID card and that is a big thing as we see there is an overwhelming trend now for such government applications,” said Jafizwaty Ishahak, smart card and auto ID regional research analyst with Frost & Sullivan, Asia-Pacific.

“Post Sept 11, more countries are in favour of smart IDs because of security reasons,” said Jafizwaty, adding that countries such as Japan, Australia and China have or are going to implement similar projects.

The “My” in MyKad signifies Malaysia’s Internet address and also personal ownership, while “Kad” is the acronym for Kad Akuan Diri or Personal Identification Card, as well as Kad Aplikasi Digital (digital application card).

Officially launched in September 2001, the MyKad is a product of the Multi-Purpose Smart Card (MPC) Flagship, one of the Multi media Super Corridor (MSC) Flagship Applications.

Initially known as Government Multi-Purpose Card (GMPC), the MyKad incorporates six main applications – identification card, driving licence, passport information (although a passport is still required for travel), health information (blood type, allergies, chronic diseases etc), MEPS Cash and the latest Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) which enables e-commerce transactions.

Other applications include transit application (Touch n’ Go), marital status and voting constituency. All these applications are being introduced in stages.

The soon-to-be-launched Bankcard by Malaysian Electronic Payment System Sdn Bhd (MEPS) comes under the Payment Multi-Purpose Card (PMPC), another type of smartcard for financial matters.

The Bankcard is a replacement for the traditional magnetic strip-based ATM card. Besides the usual ATM functions, the Bankcard will also include an e-Debit feature for cashless purchases via electronic debit from a cardholder’s savings or current account, and an e-Purse that lets cardholders load a sum of money and use it for small purchase payments.

The Government plans to merge the Bankcard and MyKad into a single multipurpose smartcard in future.

MyKad users currently have the option of activating the card’s ATM feature for one bank account, but they will still have to pay the RM8 annual fee. For other bank accounts, MyKad users would need to apply for a Bankcard for each account in order to be able to use the ATM.

Before this year’s Budget announcement, applying for a MyKad cost RM20. Currently, there is no charge for the 15 million IC holders in the country who will need to switch to MyKad.

The Government has announced a national rollout of the MyKad in January 2003.

However, a lot needs to be done to build the necessary infrastructure and raise public awareness about how MyKad works.

“There is still a lack of awareness of the technology and how to use the card among the public. There is also the high cost of infrastructure for card issuers and merchants who have to do away with the magnetic strip system,” said Jafizwaty.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) president Datuk Hamdan Adnan added, “I think the level of awareness in the rural areas is negligible; there is still a long way to go in terms promoting MyKad. The infrastructure also needs to be in place so that people will not get disappointed.”

Regarding the incident involving Road Transport Department (JPJ) officers not recognising MyKad as proof of driving licence, Hamdan said, “The Government must make sure that such incidents are not repeated with other agencies.”

Malaysian Retailers Association president Ramli Idris also felt that the public and also retailers’ understanding of MyKad was very poor.

“We only know what’s reported in the newspapers, and not everyone reads the papers! Many people know that there is a MyKad but not exactly what it entails,” said Ramli adding that the MRA was prepared to brief its members once they receive the details from the Government.

“We can educate our members on this. I’m sure our members would look forward to it because (through the e-cash feature) consumers would not need cash for their purchases,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Multimedia Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (MDC) admitted that they have not gone all out to promote awareness. (MDC is the agency established by the Government to spearhead the development and implementation of the MSC.)

“Although the level of awareness has increased since the Budget, it is still not enough,” admitted Narayanan Kanan, senior vice-president of regulation.

“Raising awareness is a continuous effort. We have now done a special video and will run awareness campaigns through the mass media. We also plan to go into the rural areas,” he said.

For the card to be successful, cardholders must be able to use it at all shops, said Ramli. “If not, then users might as well use their credit cards.”

The National Registration Department (NRD) has said that it would begin to introduce a mobile service in all states to process MyKad applications next year. Each state would be allocated two buses to service housing estates and densely-populated areas while four-wheel-drives would be used to reach remote areas.

The NRD would also rent space in shopping complexes or visit public exhibition areas to process applications.

The Government hopes that all adult Malaysians will have the card by 2005, and to achieve this target, the NRD also proposed to set up 29 new branches nationwide, work on certain public holidays and provide extended hours of our service.

“The application for MyKad must be made simple. There must be enough centres or places available which the public can easily access,” said Ramli.

Currently, there are 2.6mil MyKad holders in the country. The NRD has to issue another 17 million by 2005, and it expects to process about 15,000 MyKad applications daily from next year.

However, security of the card is still one of the main concerns raised by different quarters, what with hacking being a common incidence these days.

“Security is the main issue,” said Hamdan. “Nothing is for sure. Someday, some smart aleck might break the code.”

On the other hand, said Ramli, “Consumers must feel secure using it, especially with the many fraud Internet purchases these days. If it is safe, then it’s a good thing to the retail industry.”

But Jafizwaty said that the chip-based and biometric features of the card would provide high security, which would make it very difficult for hackers or wrong parties to gain access to information stored in it.

Added Narayanan, “Not everyone has access to the information in the card. There is also a hierarchy of access. For example, for sensitive diseases like epilepsy, only certain medical officers can access the card by punching in a special code.

“Hackers will always be there and they are certainly a factor to be considered. However, we believe we have the best, certified system in the world. The bottom line is that so far, there has been no encroachment, and that’s the test of the card.

“But we are aware that technology is ever changing and our challenge is to keep (the card’s technology) continually benchmarked at a better standard.”

Earlier this year, there were reports that illegal immigrants were found to be holders of the MyKad. Furthermore, the NRD said that an average of 300 out of the 10,000 MyKad applications daily involved cheats who were trying to get the new identity cards using false documents and information.

With so much personal and valuable information stored in the MyKad, the risk of theft also inevitably increases.

“Having the smart card will probably increase theft of it because the attraction is there. There is a lot of personal information stored, including buying patterns which would attract the (card cloning) syndicates,” said Jafizwaty, adding that the technology of these syndicates were getting better by the day.

However, Narayanan contended that a cardholder’s thumbprint would still be needed before someone could access the information in the card, except for the cash feature, which would be a limited amount.

Nevertheless, Jafizwaty said that using the smart ID was inevitable. “Eventually we should switch to the MyKad for better security, convenience and speed,” she said.

Once the PKI is used, said Narayanan, it would be the key enabler for e-commerce and also help prevent credit card fraud.

“We can’t implement the card without the support and involvement of all key stakeholders, including the media. The card is the basics to reducing transaction costs and fraud. Above all, the card must make things more efficient and convenient,” he said, adding that MDC welcomes feedback from the public.