PUTRAJAYA, Sept 10 — The government will make it mandatory for all prepaid SIM card registrations to use MyDigitalID by the end of the year, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced today.
Fahmi said the decision was made following discussions at the Malaysia Digital Economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution Council (MED4IR) meeting yesterday.
He added that the move was aimed at strengthening security and addressing loopholes in the current system, including the unusually high number of SIM cards that can be registered under a single name.
“Telco companies will be instructed to ensure that the registration process for prepaid SIM cards will also make use of MyDigitalID,” he said during his weekly post-Cabinet press conference.
“This will begin to be enforced by the end of this year, with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to follow up with more detailed information,” he added
The enforcement is expected to take effect in November or December.
Fahmi, who is also the government spokesperson, said the measure would also help improve safety for social media users, as phone numbers are often used to register accounts.
“Our main objective is security, including for social media users. Registering phone numbers is one way for us to close this loophole,” he said.
Experts have cautioned that age checks on social media platforms such as TikTok will not be effective unless Malaysia first tightens its prepaid SIM card registration system, theSundaily reported today.
Malaysian Cyber Consumer Association (MCCA) president Siraj Jalil reportedly said unverified, pre-registered SIM cards remain easily available online, with some even registered under false names, making it simple for individuals to avoid accountability.
