KUALA LUMPUR – Those who did not register on the Central Database Hub (Padu) will still be accounted for when the government streamlines its list of individuals eligible for targeted subsidies, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said.
He said the government would use existing data on those who did not register and could consider reopening Padu for another round of registration and updating in the future.
“For citizens who did not manage to register and update their profiles on Padu, available administrative data is sufficient and will be used by the government to determine individual eligibility for the purpose of retargeting subsidies,” the minister said in a statement today.
At the close of registration at 11.59pm yesterday, 17.65 million profiles, or 58.7% of citizens, were registered and had their details updated in the Padu system.
The figure includes household members under the age of 18.
The Economy Ministry is to enter the next phase of the project, which is to use the data in Padu to develop a targeted subsidy plan.
Rafizi said this plan would be presented to the cabinet this month.
“If need be, the ministry will reopen Padu for a short period again for registration and updating, after the government decides on the form and mechanism of targeted subsidies,” he said.
On the profiles updated in the system, Rafizi said while the 17.65 million citizens included those under the age of 18, 11.55 million (52.6%) in Padu were above 18.
By state, Perlis recorded the highest registration rate at 66.9% of those aged 18 and above, followed by Kelantan at 65.2%.
The lowest rate was recorded in Selangor at 44.5%.
Padu was launched and opened for registration on January 2 to be the country’s main database on citizens’ economic standing to guide the government when making data-driven decisions and policies.
Registration, however, was slowed by concerns over data security following several hacking attempts, and complaints by some users over the tedious process that required answering close to 40 questions. – April 1, 2024