User:Two hundred percent/Dirtbox/Identity documents in Malaysia

= Identity documents in Malaysia = The Malaysian Identity Card, currently known as the MyKad, is

Identity card
Malaysian identity cards are compulsory for Malaysians who are older than 12 years old. Until the introduction of the MyKad, two forms of ICs were to be issued throughout a Malaysian citizen's lifetime. The first card, a "temporary" identity card, is issued to Malaysians who have reached the age of 13 years old. The IC holder will continue to carry the card for 5 years until a second, permanent card is given after their 18th birthday.

The original series of Malaysian ICs were essentially paper-based slips depicting basic traits of the card holder. The latest series of paper-based ICs, which were still issued during the 1990s and early 2000s, included the following particulars:
 * On the observe, a black-and-white passport sized head shot of the card holder, the card holder's address as of the IC's date of issue and IC number(s).
 * On the reserve, the same IC number(s) as the observe, enclosed between two finger prints of the card holder's two thumbs.

The MyKad

IC numbers
Malaysian identity card numbers are distinguished into three major groups:
 * A 7 digit system for citizens born before 1965 (registering before 1978);
 * a 8 character system consisting of a preceding letter and a 7 digit number for citizens born between 1965 and 1978 (registering between 1978 and 1991); and
 * a 12 digit system for citizens born after 1978 (registering after 1991).

7/8 character system
When introduced in 1948, Malaysia's IC number was originally conceived as a incrementing number of seven digits, including the preceding 0s for numbers lower than 1000000. As ICs were to be issued to both existing and new citizens, the system originally issues numbers on a "first come first serve" basis based on the time they registered for ICs, not their birth dates or date of arrival in Malaya. By the end of 1977, the incrementation surpassed the 7500000 mark, when it was discontinued.

Beginning the start of 1978, a slightly modified IC number system was introduced for citizens born between 1965 and 1978. Similar to its predecessor, the 8 character system consists of the same incrementing seven digit number (reset to "0000000") but is additionally preceded by a letter of the alphabet. The letter is commonly represented by an "A", but other increments under "K" and "H" exists. An estimated 4,000,000 "A" series ICs numbers alone were issued between 1978 and 1991, when it was no longer issued.

While many born before 1948 would receive ICs, some of them had only apply for ICs well into the 1980s. As a result, this segment of the population shares similar old IC numbers with those who registered between 1948 and 1977 or later. Those born after 1948 would receive a more consistent order of IC numbers.

Following the introduction of the 12-digit system in April 1991, the use of old IC numbers were gradually phased out of common use during the 1990s. However, ICs issued for card holders born before April 1978 continue to bear their old IC numbers.

12 character system
Introduced in 1991, a new IC number system was made compulsory for both old and new card holders, utilising a more sophisticated 12-digit format (YYMMDD-BP-###G) with a 2-digit number after the 12-digit number to indicate the number of the IC which a person previously held.

The 12-digit system follows the format "YYMMDD-BP-###G" where "YYMMDD" represent the card holder's birth date but this is not always the case as this is an unofficial feature. This allows the system to take into account cases where the holder is unable to prove his or her actual date of birth according to the Gregorian calendar due to lack of documentation, translation of calendars or simply not knowing. Unfortunately, general acceptance of this as the official date of birth has led to much confusion and error. "###G" represents generic serial numbers, the odd numbers for G denotes male while the even numbers denote female. "BP" indicates the place or country of birth of the card holder, including:

The BP code also supports foreign nations or regions grouped into a selection of numbers ranging from 60 to 93. Examples include:

Driver's license
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