The world's first Government Multi-Purpose Card (GMPC), MyKad, will help overcome the problem of lost or forged identification cards as it will be more difficult to duplicate so said director-general Azizan Ayob of the National Registration Department (NRD).

MyKad has been catapulted to such new heights of efficiency so much so that Malaysia will soon be sharing her expertise with Middle Eastern countries. So said Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

And Mykad has proved worthy of so much accolade that the consortium of companies which developed this 'groundbreaking technology' was recognised with a Johnny Walker award, said Johnny Walker.

One slight caveat though you might be penalised for carrying it for this widely acclaimed GMPC has yet to be recognised by the Road Transport Department (RTD) or the police.

So if you're on the road and you happen to be one of the blessed few who are issued with this "documentation for a brave new world", you might want to think again the next time you hit the gas, or even look the slightest bit conspicuous for that matter. You do not want to get pulled over and be issued a summon for not carrying your driving licence, but you will be, not matter how vigorously you wave your MyKad.

Absolutely useless yoked ox

But behind every appalling implementation, is an apathetic bureaucrat. And with three government departments, and the police involved here, we have ourselves an impossibly, unequally yoked ox with not the faintest hope of tilling the ground.

The National Registration Department (NRD) has said MyKad is recognised unequivocally and unambiguously. But the RTD, on the other hand, has said that it is not yet fully recognised. The Immigration Department will probably have a lot to say later when MyKad is whipped out in place of the universal passport.

As for the police... well, the police's actions have spoken very much louder than their words.

A traffic enforcement officer in Bukit Aman, Mohd Karim Abu, was reported by Utusan Malaysia today as having said that any summon arising from non-recognition of MyKad could only be cancelled if the driving licence information was found in MyKad.

Which ultimately means that the onus would fall on the innocent motorist to prove that he was carrying a valid licence when in the first place, he should not have to bear the burden of another's incompetence.

And because the only consolation for such a sorry state of affairs is to enter into another multi-million ringgit contract instead of tackling the problem head on, the government signed a three-year contract to the tune of RM4 million with Heitech Padu Bhd last month.

The premise of the agreement? To establish a "disaster recovery centre" in the event of a "catastrophe" wiping out an individual's details, and providing the necessary support services together with the requisite technical know-how for maintaining the MyKad.

An exercise in futility

All well and good, but such a measure would be an exercise in futility if at the onset, you don't even need a catastrophe to render your data invalid. It would seem that the relevant bodies are more concerned with speculating on the improbable rather than redressing the rectifiable.

A further manifestation of the innate sense of foresight possessed by those sitting in the upper echelons of power vis-a-vis the MyKad may be found in the hallowed halls of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport which was recently equipped with electronic readers to verify and check data tucked away in our new Malaysian electronic passports.

However, if the bureaucrats have it their way, these new Malaysian passports which cost a substantial RM300 for a five-year validity period, will soon be thrown into the dustbin of history when MyKad incorporates our passports as well.

Thus, it also seems that it is far better to appear flamboyantly tech-savvy rather than boringly practical. One cannot but ask if there was any serious consideration or even a proper study conducted detailing the consequences of an overload of applications which is inherently possible in a multi-application card such as this MyKad. Which leads us to our next not-so-anticipated 'award'.

Unless much more is done to critically address the dire need for concrete enforcement and implementation of MyKad, including an open and effective liaison amongst the relevant departments, the one 'honour' which could possibly be bequeathed on Mykad in the not-too-distant future would be this 'Laughing-stock of technological flops award' of the year.

MICHELLE LEE is a member of the malaysiakini team.