Recently in Parliament, Mohd Shafie Mohd Salleh (BN-Hulu Langat), suggested that the government implant a microchip in illegal immigrants or make them wear an unremovable bracelet to prevent them from returning to Malaysia.

Ironically, a microchip with such possibilities can be made available when on Sept 5, 2003, then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that the government had for an undisclosed amount bought the intellectual property rights to a miniature microchip from a Japanese company, FEC Inc.

Mahathir claimed that the aptly dubbed Malaysian Microchip (MM) and measuring 0.5mm x 0.5mm - approximately the size of a decimal point - was so small and so revolutionary that the microchip could be embedded into currencies to passport and even inside human bodies. Since the microchip also came with a built-in antenna, there were a myriad of possibilities.

Then, a year later, on March 2, 2004, the government announced that it would begin commercial production of the microchip, which initially would be manufactured in Japan and thereafter production will be shifted to Silterra (M) Sdn Bhd, a wafer fabrication firm belonging to Kedah state government.

Three years after the first announcement, it would be good to know whatever has become of MM chip?