Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the decision was made during the National Digital Economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim yesterday.

He said he has asked JPN director-general Badrul Hisham Alias to draft the processes and legal requirements to implement the initiative.

“This is because JPN has the most legitimate and comprehensive bank of citizen data.

“With this approach, every Malaysian who turns 12 will automatically be registered for a digital ID when obtaining their MyKad,” Bernama quoted him as saying after officiating the 2024 National Registration Innovation Awards in Putrajaya today.

Saifuddin said the National Registration Act would be amended to enable transactions using MyDigital ID to be legally recognised.

“The main objective of this initiative is to increase digital ID registration and simplify public transactions with government applications in the future,” he said.

Previously, Anwar expressed disappointment over delays in implementing two national digital initiatives – MyDigital ID and the second 5G network.

MyDigital ID is a government initiative for secure and authenticated online identity verification, developed since 2016.

The digital identity system will be used by both the public and private sectors to verify user identities when conducting online transactions.