KUALA LUMPUR (June 24): The government will adopt a pay-per-issue model for the roll-out of the new-generation MyKad, under which payment is made only for each card successfully issued to applicants, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said.

The contract for the supply of the new MyKad is set at RM40 per card, he said. Based on an estimated issuance of three million cards annually, the projected cost of implementation is about RM120 million a year.

“However, the actual amount of expenditure depends on the number of cards issued in a given year,” Saifuddin said in a written parliamentary reply on Tuesday (June 23).

He was responding to Jelebu Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias, who had asked about the total cost of implementing the new-generation MyKad and whether the government plans to make replacement of existing MyKad compulsory in phases, including its cost implications for the public.

Last October, NexG Bhd (KL:NEXG) was awarded a six-year contract worth RM732.72 million to supply Malaysia’s national identity cards, including MyKad and MyTentera. The contract runs from June 1, 2026, to May 31, 2032.

The government has begun rolling out the new MyKad from June, featuring enhanced security features aimed at curbing forgery and tampering.

Saifuddin said the government does not intend to carry out a full or rushed replacement of existing MyKad, noting that current identity cards remain valid and usable.

Instead, the roll-out will be implemented in phases and limited to specific categories, including first-time applicants aged 12 and above, as well as replacement applications for holders of older identity card versions.

These include plastic identity cards, high-quality identity cards, and MyKad Version 1 without ghost-image security features.

He also assured that the initiative will not impose an additional financial burden on the public, with the processing fee remaining at RM10.

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