Technical audit to be done on idME, Fadhlina tells parliament

Photo: Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: The technical audit on the alleged glitch-ridden Identity Management System (idME) will be conducted in the second half of this year, says the Education Ministry.

Its minister Fadhlina Sidek assured the Dewan Rakyat that the ministry would not compromise on any violation of the terms and conditions set for the company to implement the system.

She added that the ministry remains open to hold any internal technical audit and integrity inquiry if there were claims of procedure violation regarding the implementation of the system.

"We will collaborate with Mampu to conduct a technical audit and the results of this audit will improve the existing planning system.

"We expect this audit to be implemented in the second quarter of this year," she said in reply to a supplementary question from Sim Tze Tzin (PH-Bayan Baru) who asked whether the ministry was prepared to conduct an audit with relevant bodies to identify weaknesses and failures of the system.

According to Fadhlina, as of March 16, 2023, a total 89% of schools nationwide have completed entering data in the Integrated Assessment Management System (SPPB) under ministry's integrated system through idME system, while the rest have the option to enter their data either through SPPB or via offline.

Sim had asked the education ministry whether there would be any form of technical audit on the idMe system, which often experienced technical disruptions that made work difficult for thousands of teachers across the country.

Sim also said he wanted to know the cost of developing the system.

The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) Peninsular Malaysia had previously called on the ministry to postpone the use of the idME which was not stable, apart from claiming that it was not viable yet to fill in the scores of the Final Academic Session (UASA).

Fadhlina also noted that although option was given, Kelantan, Sarawak and Labuan had decided to fully use the SPPB system, while Perlis recorded 99% in filing using the system.

She also pointed out that the ministry had no intention of abolishing the idME system but instead would work to improve its implementation.

According to her, the cost of procurement contract for the idME system was RM454,000 while for the SPPB system, it was RM1.05mil.