Malaysian identity card

The Malaysian identity card (kad pengenalan Malaysia), is the compulsory identity card for Malaysian citizens aged 12 and above. The current identity card, known as MyKad, was introduced by the National Registration Department of Malaysia on 5 September 2001 as one of four MSC Malaysia flagship applications and a replacement for the High Quality Identity Card (Kad Pengenalan Bermutu Tinggi), Malaysia became the first country in the world to use an identification card that incorporates both photo identification and fingerprint biometric data on an in-built computer chip embedded in a piece of plastic. Besides the main purpose of the card as a validation tool and proof of citizenship other than the birth certificate, MyKad may also serve as a valid driver's license, an ATM card, an electronic purse, and a public key, among other applications, as part of the Malaysian Government Multipurpose Card (GMPC) initiative, if the bearer chooses to activate the functions. Other cards which are currently in use or soon to be introduced in the GMPC initiative and share similar features are: MyKid – for Malaysian citizens under age of 12 including newborns (non-compulsory); MyPR – for Malaysian Permanent Residents; MyTentera – for Malaysian Armed Forces personnel; The term MyKad is a compound of two words with ambiguous meanings; namely My and Kad. My can be: the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Malaysia; or the English word my Kad can be: the Malay word for card; or the acronym for Kad Akuan Diri or Personal Identification Card; or the acronym for Kad Aplikasi Digital or Digital Application Card. The initial MyKad was a contact card solution developed and manufactured by IRIS Corporation. Made of PC with the dimensions in the ISO/IEC 7816 ID-1 format (standard credit card format), the initial card had a 32kb EEPROM (Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) embedded chip running on M-COS (MyKad Chip Operating System). In November 2002, the capacity was increased to 64kb.