.JPG "Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran speaks during a media briefing in Putrajaya September 13, 2018. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Miera Zulyana")
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran clarified today that his proposal to use India’s Aadhar biometric identification system in Malaysia has yet to be discussed with the rest of his Cabinet colleagues.
He said the Cabinet needs to deliberate on the matter before any decision can be made after consulting the Home Ministry.
“A Cabinet paper on the Aadhar modelled national identity card (MyKad) system will be prepared and submitted to Cabinet,” Kulasegaran said in a statement.
The Aadhaar is the world’s largest biometric ID system, with World Bank Chief Economist Paul Romer reportedly describing it as “the most sophisticated ID programme in the world”.
Yesterday, Indian news agency PTI reported Kulasegaran as saying that Putrajaya is keen on updating its MyKad system to be on par with India’s more sophisticated Aadhar model which utilises unique random 12-digit numbers.
He said the new system will assist the federal government in avoiding instances of fraud when delivering welfare schemes and government subsidies.
Earlier last week Kulasegaran lead a delegation of officials from the Finance Ministry, Economic Affairs Ministry, and Bank Negara Malaysia among others to New Delhi to see how the Aadhar system can best be implemented.
