Stats Department serves up data at the click of a button on new website

KUANTAN: Did you know that Sarawak has the highest percentage of divorcees or separated couples out of the 13 states in Malaysia?

This and much more information are now available on the Kawasanku platform, which was soft-launched recently by the Statistics Department.

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said many inferences could be gleaned from the data, which could help the public and policymakers make decisions.

"Comparisons can be drawn on each area based on the available data. For example, the light intensity at night shown on the visualisation map can tell us which areas are developed and which are not.

"We want to have uncertainties limited, with data from an authentic source. Now, all of these can be accessed online at the people's fingertips," he said in a meeting with members of the press here on Wednesday (June 15).

Following the completion of the Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020 (MyCensus 2020), the department released population data at the parliamentary and state legislative assembly constituency level for the first time in history.

Indicators such as population density, household income and surface covered by forest had been compiled into readable graphs, charts and geographic visualisations on Kawasanku, which Uzir said would be updated frequently with more data.

"I want it to be possible one day for data such as how many people sought treatment at a clinic to be available too. Then we can know about health issues affecting each area.

"Such data can help people to be more health-conscious. Otherwise they will become complacent," he said.

Asked if there was a risk of the data being abused, Mohd Uzir said this was not sensitive information but rather data that had been turned into statistics.

"In the past, people may think business and tourism will be affected when data such as pollution rates are shared. But now when we highlight such data, it will move people to respond and think of how to solve the problem.

"What we want is for the people to think critically, participate and play a role at all levels of society," he said.

Uzir also assured that the department had always placed heavy emphasis on protecting private data.

The Kawasanku platform can be visited at https://kawasanku.dosm.gov.my/.