Thai Citizens To Have Smart Id Card In June

[george]

Thai citizens to have Smart ID card in June

BANGKOK: -- The ministries of Interior and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) today agreed they would get their acts together in order to issue the pioneering 12 million smart ID cards for Thais by June, to meet the target of 26 million issued by end of 2005.

The priority issue will go to Thai citizens in the three southern border provinces, who will be among the first to hold a new generation of ID card.

Officials of the two ministries met today to sort out the missed deadline for the issue smart ID card, a new generation of citizen ID equipped with microchip containing personal data. Information and Communications Technology Minister Suwit Khunkitti told reporters that the delay – from January this year – is caused by technical glitches arisen from harmonising citizenship data held by the Interior Ministry.

However, the first lot of 12 million cards can now be issued in June, and the meeting today has come up with guidelines to ensure smooth issue of yet another 14 million ID cards to Thais by end of this year.

The new generation of ID card contains personal data relating to social security, health insurance and primary census data from the Department of Public Administration. There is some space left in the individual card chip to store additional information from other government agencies.

The Cabinet will be informed of the new timeframe at its weekly meeting tomorrow

--TNA 2005-05-02

[LivinLOS]

Thailand... 'Smart' cards...

Too many jokes... Must... resist... temptation...

[barryofthailand]

Rhis is so the Government can keep track on what erveryone is doing. That's why the first to get the new ID cards will be the three southern provences where they are having problems with insurgents.

[The_Other_Mac]

Rhis is so the Government can keep track on what erveryone is doing. That's why the first to get the new ID cards will be the three southern provences where they are having problems with insurgents.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, it's a blatant intrusion into an individual's rights. Just by checking their ID against a government official can confirm their official address and police record.

[Humphrey Bear]

Rhis is so the Government can keep track on what erveryone is doing. That's why the first to get the new ID cards will be the three southern provences where they are having problems with insurgents.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, it's a blatant intrusion into an individual's rights. Just by checking their ID against a government official can confirm their official address and police record.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And that's almost certainly the way the Muslim recipients will see it - another way of keeping them pinned down.

Would have made far more sense to start with Bangkok, where a large population has a degree of sophistication.

But then there are so many in BKK without ID of any kind, and the military do want to control the South.