This was stated in the second series of the 2016 Auditor-General’s Report.
The A-G called for the i-Kad to be properly gazetted for use and proposed that changes allowing for this be expedited under the Immigration Regulations 1963.
For a start, the A-G wanted the various enforcement agencies to have a joint meeting to recognise the use of the i-Kad as a valid official document for foreign workers.
The A-G also questioned delays in the i-Kad reaching the employers and workers.
It wondered why total penalty of RM4.32 million for late delivery of the cards was not imposed on Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad (PNMB).
“The Immigration Department should enhance the monitoring of the delivery of the i-Kad to ensure there is no delay in employers receiving the i-Kad.
“The penalty must also be imposed on contractors for any delay,” the A-G said.
The report said 931,729 i-Kad were delivered late to employers between 2014 and 2016 — going beyond the 35 days given.
Giving further details on the i-Kad, the report said about 15% could not be delivered.
The status of another 29.1% cards was unknown as it could not be confirmed whether the employers had received them.
It said 5,449,989 cards were printed between 2014 and March 2017.
The audit on the i-Kad was carried out between December 2016 and March 2017.
The i-Kad comes in different colours for seven work sectors — expatriates (gold), agriculture (green), farming (orange), construction (grey), services (yellow), manufacturing (red) and maids (chocolate).
The i-Kad contains foreign workers’ data security code and a chip with biometric information on the workers.
The RM465.35 million contract for the supply, setting up of the application system, maintenance, printing of the i-Kad was signed on March 2, 2015.
It is for a five-year period, from Jan 15, 2014 to Jan 14, 2019.
Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepali illegal workers assured of E-Kad