A TOTAL of 6.4 million households have completed the 2020 population and housing census online using e-census as at Sunday, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (economic affairs) Mustapa Mohamed said they made up 19.7% from the estimated 32.7 million population.

“We have 13 more days before the online phase of the census is over and we do hope that the target of 30% of the population using e-census will be achieved by year-end” he said during question time today.

Mustapa was replying to Wong Shu Qi (DAP-Kluang) who wanted to know the number of households and the percentage that have completed their details in the e-census so far and the percentage of the online census that Department of Statistics is targeting.

He said the 2020 census is being implemented in two phases, with the first initially scheduled for July 7 to September 30 and the second scheduled for October 7 to 24.

However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the first phase of the census, which is the online phase, has been extended to December 21, and the second phase, which is face-to-face, was rescheduled to start from January 20 to February 6.

Meanwhile, the ministry is in the midst of implementing various programmes to increase the response for the online phase, especially in Sabah, which recorded the lowest response so far at 6.7%.

“A total of 1,700 census clinics, e-census hour and e-census day have also been held virtually to increase the response.” – Bernama, December 8, 2020.