KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 — The government has appointed the national research and development (R&D) centre, MIMOS Berhad, as the implementing agency for the National Digital Identity programme or Digital ID with an initial allocation of RM80 million.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Ministry of Finance would channel the allocation to MIMOS next week, while the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) will expedite the implementation of the programme.
“I have decided that MIMOS will manage the Digital ID for Malaysia. There is an urgent need, and there is an allocation for the purpose (Digital ID) approved by the KDN.
“I have also received assurance that it can be expedited within three months from now, provided that the government approves the allocation,” he said during an official visit to MIMOS Berhad in Taman Teknologi Malaysia, Bukit Jalil, today.
Also present were Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Minister of Health Dr Zaliha Mustafa, and Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Chang Lih Kang.
Meanwhile, Anwar acknowledged the feedback from Infineon Technologies AG and the Chinese automotive company, Geely, which have invested in Malaysia, which said that there is a deficiency in the highest-level skills among engineers in the country.
“Although they (Infineon) are proud of the professionalism of our engineers and our technology, they still believe there is a shortage in terms of the highest-level skills needed but not readily available among the locals,” he said.
As such, the Prime Minister said MIMOS should provide training and develop a curriculum directly managed by the agency or in collaboration with universities and other research centres to address the issue.
He also expressed hope that MIMOS and local universities could identify areas that require training to prepare adequately trained personnel to address the shortage and boost training, particularly in the fields of digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI).
