KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Communications, through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), is conducting a study on the implementation of the National Address System (NAS) for a more authoritative, standardised, and integrated address network, said Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He said NAS would be the single addressing system and the primary reference recognised by the government that manages over 12 million addresses nationwide through close cooperation among various stakeholders.
“With the implementation of the NAS system, we will no longer need to rely on traditional methods such as identifying addresses based on roof colours, utility pole numbers, or milestone markers.
“Efforts to develop NAS is the government’s strategic move to protect the sovereignty of the country’s geospatial data, ensuring that address data is domestically managed, thus reducing reliance on foreign technology,” he said during the document exchange ceremony for the Melaka Digital Village Initiative (KDM) with the Melaka state government here today.
Also present were Melaka chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh, Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa and MCMC chairman Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din.
Fahmi said Malaysia faces significant challenges with unstructured and inconsistent addresses, especially in rural areas, traditional villages, and densely populated urban areas.
He said the lack of an authoritative address source as the primary reference has resulted in address data being separately managed by various agencies, adding that this led to reliance on foreign technology, inefficiencies of public service delivery, and weaknesses in supporting the digital economy.
According to Fahmi, without an integrated addressing system, over RM700 million is spent annually on geospatial and navigation services from overseas, draining the country’s revenue and increasing the risk of managing critical national infrastructure information.
“The Communications Ministry is aware of this gap and the importance of integrated address management in driving the country’s digital economy, including the e-commerce, logistics, and smart town development sectors.
“In line with Section 57 of the Postal Services Act 2012 (Act 741), MCMC is empowered to develop, regulate, implement, maintain, and manage the postal code and address systems in Malaysia,” he said.
During the Digital Economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Council meeting on June 24 last year, Fahmi said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had essentially agreed to implement the NAS.
He said the system has also been identified as a “needle mover” under the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint and the National 4IR Policy, aimed at realising the government’s aspiration to make Malaysia a high-income nation driven by digitalisation and a regional leader in the digital economy.
Fahmi said MCMC has initiated collaborations with various agencies, including local authorities, the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia, and local geospatial industry players, which will benefit courier, logistics, public delivery, and national defence sectors.
Earlier, Fahmi and Ab Rauf witnessed the document exchange on the KDM initiative between MCMC and the Melaka state government.
KDM, the brainchild of Ab Rauf, aimed to address the issue of unclear and unstructured house addresses in villages by leveraging geospatial mapping technology and QR codes to create a modern and systematic addressing system.
