Fomca urges immediate repair of faulty MyDigital ID kiosks

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) has urged MyDigital ID kiosk operators to carry out regular and proactive maintenance after two kiosks at the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) Selangor Anggerik Mall in Shah Alam were found to be out of order.

A user who wished to be known only as Lina said she went to the UTC last Tuesday after identity verification through her smartphone failed.

On arrival, however, she found the kiosks could not be used and was told the facility had not been maintained for some time.

"Luckily an officer helped me complete the verification and showed me the correct way to use the MyDigital ID app.

"But if verification still fails, I was told I would have to do it through the kiosk," she told FMT, describing the situation as inconvenient for users.

'Every component must work'

Commenting on the matter, Fomca chief executive officer T Saravanan said prolonged kiosk breakdowns could affect the user experience and erode confidence in the government's digitalisation initiative.

He said verification kiosks are important for users who cannot complete the process on a smartphone and rely on the physical facilities provided by the government.

"The government is encouraging the use of MyDigital ID as the national digital identity to ease access to various services. Therefore, every component in this ecosystem must function properly," he said.

Saravanan urged kiosk operators to ensure maintenance is done regularly and proactively, rather than only after receiving complaints.

He also called on the authorities to introduce a monitoring system capable of detecting kiosk faults immediately, so that repairs do not depend solely on user complaints.

"The success of MyDigital ID depends not only on the technology developed, but also on the quality of service delivery to users.

"Facilities that are accessible, reliable and well maintained are an essential precondition for building public confidence in the national digitalisation agenda," he said.

FMT has contacted MyDigital ID via its hotline and email.

Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi was quoted on July 8 as saying that 12 million Malaysians had registered for MyDigital ID as of June 30, with 16 million transactions involving registration, renewal and cancellation of digital identities recorded.

A total of 114 online government services have also been reported as integrated with MyDigital ID, including MyJPJ, MyPTPTN, SPA9 and MyBayar PDRM.