Digital Id To Curb Corruption Secure Borders

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THE United Kingdom’s (UK) rollout of a national digital identity system for immigration and employment checks offers an intriguing model for Malaysia, a country grappling with long-standing problems of undocumented immigration, abuse of migrant labour, and corruption within its immigration enforcement agencies.

While the UK’s digital identity scheme is designed to streamline legal access to work and services, Malaysia could potentially adapt such a system not only to manage its foreign worker population more effectively, but also to combat corruption and strengthen national security.
However, its success would hinge on how well the system is designed, governed, and implemented especially given the systemic challenges faced by Malaysia’s immigration enforcement apparatus.
One of the most pressing issues in Malaysia’s immigration system is the problem of “counter setting”, a term that refers to illegal or under-the-table arrangements between corrupt immigration officers and agents where undocumented migrants are registered (or re-registered) for a fee, without following official procedures.

These schemes often involve forged documents, tampered biometric data, or fake work permits and passes, leading to a shadow population of migrants whose records are either falsified or untraceable.
This has not only contributed to a loss of government revenue but also compromised the integrity of the immigration database, undermining efforts to monitor the true scale of foreign labour presence in the country.
(Image: The Fintech Times)A digital identity system, if designed with built-in safeguards, could be a powerful tool to disrupt these corrupt practices.
By centralising and automating identity verification through biometrics (such as fingerprints or facial recognition), it would reduce opportunities for manual intervention by immigration officers thereby cutting down on discretionary power, which is often the root of corruption.
For instance, the current reliance on physical documents and manual approvals creates multiple “touchpoints” where bribes can be solicited.
In contrast, digital systems that authenticate directly against a secure, centralised database offer fewer opportunities for tampering or unauthorised access.
However, merely digitising identity is not a magic bullet. A digital system is only as honest as the people who run it.
If immigration officers or system administrators are not held accountable, or if audit logs can be deleted or altered without detection, then corruption will simply evolve to exploit digital loopholes.
This is why any digital ID initiative in Malaysia must be implemented alongside strong oversight mechanisms such as real-time audit trails, independent monitoring bodies, and whistleblower protection.

Moreover, integration with other systems such as health, education, police, and employment would ensure that inconsistencies in data (for example, a worker registered with multiple employers) can be flagged and investigated quickly.
Another significant advantage of a well-governed digital ID system is its potential to provide Malaysia with accurate, real-time data on both documented and undocumented immigrants.
(Image: South China Morning Post)At present, estimates of undocumented foreign workers in Malaysia vary widely from 1.2 million to over 3 million due to inconsistent registration exercises, overlapping databases, and weak enforcement.
This data vacuum poses a serious national security concern. Undocumented migrants may be vulnerable to exploitation, involved in illicit activities, or become vectors for cross-border threats such as human trafficking, drug smuggling, or even terrorism.
Without reliable data, it is difficult for the government to develop targeted policies, respond to emergencies (such as pandemics or disasters), or ensure adequate service delivery.
A digital ID scheme, if extended to include even those currently undocumented through a safe and temporary registration process, could close this information gap.

By capturing biometrics, nationality, employment status, and address, the government would have a much clearer picture of the migrant landscape.
This would enable better forecasting for labour needs, improve urban planning, and strengthen border management.
More importantly, once there is visibility, the government can segment the undocumented population those eligible for regularisation, those awaiting repatriation, and those under investigation for criminal activity. It would also allow for data sharing between enforcement and intelligence agencies, reducing duplication and inefficiency.
However, success would depend on trust and incentive structures. Many undocumented migrants are fearful of engaging with official systems due to past experiences of detention, deportation, or abuse. If a digital ID scheme is perceived purely as an enforcement tool, uptake will be low.
Instead, the government must pair it with a transparent amnesty or regularisation program, clearly communicating that registration does not lead to immediate deportation, but rather access to legal status or services.
(Image: Unsplash/phyo min)Employers too must be brought into the fold through mandatory digital ID checks, penalties for hiring undocumented workers, and incentives for legal compliance.
Of course, digital ID implementation comes with its own risks: chief among them being surveillance overreach and data misuse. In the wrong hands, such systems could be weaponised for racial profiling, political targeting, or systemic discrimination.

Therefore, robust data protection laws, independent audits, and judicial oversight must be core pillars of the system.
Malaysia’s current Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) is insufficient for this scale of surveillance and should be reformed to address biometric data handling, cross-border data transfers, and data subject rights.
Ultimately, a digital identity system modelled on the UK’s initiative has strong potential to address two of Malaysia’s most entrenched immigration challenges: corruption in immigration enforcement and lack of accurate data on the migrant population.
By automating identity verification, reducing human discretion, and improving inter-agency coordination, such a system could reduce counter setting and allow the government to know perhaps for the first time the exact number of foreign nationals in the country.

This knowledge is essential not just for labour planning but for safeguarding national security. However, implementation must be done in phases, backed by legal reform, institutional accountability, and most critically, the trust of the migrant communities it aims to document.
Without these, the digital ID may simply become another layer of bureaucracy that susceptible to the same corruption it seeks to eliminate. 
R. Paneir Selvam is the principal consultant of Arunachala Research & Consultancy Sdn Bhd, a think tank specialising in strategic national and geopolitical matters.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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