KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will ramp up the rollout of the National Address System (NAS) over a three-year period from 2025 to 2027.
According to Ahmad Aswadi Yusof, head of MCMC’s Digital and Geospatial Innovation Division, the initiative follows a study phase conducted earlier this year, along with preparatory steps including the creation of a technical task force involving key government agencies and the launch of pilot projects.
“In 2026, we plan to accelerate development of the pilot system, form a dedicated NAS community, and begin verifying data from key contributors to enhance the platform,” he said during his address at the 2025 National Address Conference today.
“By 2027, efforts will focus more on consolidating and validating data quality, and further improving the application.”
Ahmad Aswadi noted that Malaysia has already spent an estimated RM700 million to acquire location data from third-party providers for government use. However, there has been no previous attempt to consolidate this information into a single system, resulting in inaccurate location information.
“Malaysia continues to grapple with the challenge of unstructured and non-standardised addresses, especially in rural areas,” he said.
Citing an example, he added: “If you search for an address in Taman Bahagia, Kuala Lumpur, it may mistakenly be sent to Taman Bahagia in Sandakan, Sabah — a completely different destination.”
The NAS, once fully implemented, will serve as the sole official address database recognised by the government and will be the primary reference for managing over 11 million addresses nationwide.
The 2025 National Address Conference runs over two days and features 15 presentations by local and international experts. Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil is expected to officiate the opening ceremony tomorrow. — July 16, 2025