He said the figure of 500,000 was still low considering the total Malaysian population of about 32 million people.

“When there is a long time frame (for a deadline), people will feel there is still some more time left. We have anticipated this, so we are intensifying promotions to raise public awareness,” he said, according to Bernama.

The census is held every 10 years and in the past census-takers were deployed throughout the country to conduct interviews to obtain figures on population and household changes.

However in view of the Covid-19 outbreak, an online census, called the E-Census, is being held from July 7 to Sept 30, while personal interviews will be conducted from Oct 7-24.

“If the number of e-Census filings can reach 20 million, the implementation of the house-to-house census will be easier in October because there will be only more than 10 million households left,” he said.

The current census will cover an estimated 32.7 million people and nine million residential areas.

Mohd Uzir, who is the census commissioner, said he had asked Malaysia’s civil servants, numbering about 1.62 million, to spread the word about the system among their family members and their contacts. “Today we had a function with Cuepacs to promote this to civil servants,” he said.

If more people used the e-Census system, “we may also be able to release the findings of the preliminary results (of the census)”, he said, and it could be counted as one of Malaysia’s successes in being able to conduct a census while facing the Covid-19 pandemic.

The department is sending out postcards inviting Malaysians to be part of the E-Census. Others can register at: https://ecensusreg.mycensus.gov.my/index.php?lang=en