• UPDATED | Added new details on new timeframe on the census project following statement from the Statistics Department.

KINIGUIDE | The government's decennial census project returns this year with the introduction of an e-census alongside the traditional face-to-face interviews with selected members of the public.

This is being done in line with technological advancements which have proven to be timely in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Carried out since 1970, the Malaysia Population and Housing Census has been conducted five times with the last exercise taking place in 2010.

To put it into context, the Malaysian population in 2010 was 27.5 million. The 2020 statistics show that the population is now 32.7 million.

According to the Statistics Department, as of Oct 4, only 3.25 million respondents, equivalent to 10 percent of the population, have taken part in the census.

What's the time frame for the project?

The census is divided into two phases.

First phase:...