Mega Database - For All Thai Citizens

BANGKOK: -- A MOVE to integrate state information databases into one data network is underway to spur national development and manage security more efficiently, the just-retired secretary-general of the National Security Council Anusit Kunakorn has said.

He revealed this during an interview on NOW channel's "the 26th Hour''.

An "electronic superhighway network" formally known as the Government Information Network (GIN) - or Super GIN - has been established to help the government boost economic growth, assist with natural disasters, tackle illegal trade, criminal activity and manage security issues, said Anusit, who retired at the end of last month.

GIN is the initiative of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. "The PM believes integrating the country's databases will benefit not only the government but also the public, business or the private sector that can utilise this information sharing system,'' he said.

According to a February 8 resolution by the Prayut Cabinet, the PM chairs a committee to implement this project. Deputy Premier Prawit Wongsuwan, who is also Defence Minister, oversees the project and Anusit was made secretary of the committee.

Prayut wanted the Information Communications and Technology Ministry to be the main agency to pool information from various ministries, Anusit said.

At this stage, information from different ministries is linked manually, such as databases of the Revenue Department, Department of Provincial Administration, which is in charge of civil registration, the Royal Thai Police, and the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (NCB). Many databases could not be linked yet, he said.

But critics have questioned if this sharing of information, which includes civil registration databases, will intrude into individuals' privacy. Many people may not want their financial information or criminal records to be shared or known just via a single check.

Presently the Civil Registration keeps fingerprint records of each individual (their right and left thumbs). Those without thumbs have prints of their index, middle, ring and little fingers kept respectively.

What critics fear is that this project could be geared toward having all 10 fingerprints kept and even DNA collected and stored. But Anusit said: "To collect and keep DNA information, a new law would have to be passed."

He argued that having complete identity records for people would be useful for many incidents, such as natural disasters.

"People should not think that having 10 fingerprints make them look like criminals. For the country to move ahead people should think out of the box and we must adjust ourselves with the times. People have nothing to lose in having their 10 fingerprints kept in databases,'' Anusit said.

"People who do nothing wrong do not have to worry. If you are not criminals but decent people who earn your livelihood honestly, or officials who are not corrupt, I believe you would not reject this system because all parties will benefit. Checks enabled by this system create transparency,'' he said.

Benefits from the project would be huge, Anusit said. For instance, people could get new national ID cards faster, officials could check if ID cards were falsified or if criminals had used ID cards of people who had died or held several ID cards. Officials could check if migrants, hilltribe or ethnic minority people - who do not own national ID cards but are given different types of cards - hold only one correct ID card. They could be checked more easily if they illegally enter the country or engage in illegal activity. Landowners could check their ownership of land title deeds, and people may be able to find the whereabouts of missing family members.

"Bank accounts, debts, credit cards can also be checked through this information sharing system,'' he said.

The private sector can link databases with those of civil registration. This would enable companies to access information on applicants such as their authentic ID cards. They could also link to databases of the Labour Ministry, which would help them get information such as where applicants worked before.

When the Asean Economic Community starts next year, surveillance information systems and information sharing would be useful for immigration issues such as when people cross borders.

"Immigration officials would have criminal records or blacklists of the NCB or the Corrections Department. Criminals fleeing the country would find it much harder. The integrated system will be like you see in foreign movies, you key in ID numbers and you will know that person's criminal record," he said.

To help boost security in the restive South, security officials could link the Land Transport Department's car registration information with Internet protocol (IP) by smart phones to check on cars. "The public also benefits from this information system if they encounter car thefts,'' he said.

Anusit said the PM had long pushed for this project before the 17 August bomb attacks in Bangkok took place. If security databases were fully integrated, police investigations would be easier.

"We would have had information about bomb parts because there have been patterns of bombs around the world. If the public does not have a negative attitude, they would enjoy greater security with this integrated system that can be efficiently managed and updated,'' he said.

The ICT Ministry will design the system to identify the level of confidentiality in order to determine what information should be shared with various state agencies, or what data the private sector or the public can access, Anusit said.

Source- The Nation