Padu will not be suspended, system working smoothly, says Fahmi

PUTRAJAYA: The newly-launched Central Database Hub (Padu) is operating smoothly and will not be suspended, says Fahmi Fadzil.

"The system is working smoothly. The issues raised were swiftly and successfully resolved.

"The safety aspect is constantly being monitored and the question of suspending it does not arise," the Communications Minister said at a press conference on Wednesday (Jan 3).

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Citing the issue where the MyKad number could be used to change a Padu user's password, Fahmi said the issue was resolved within an hour.

"The Economy Minister informed us that the issue was resolved at 9.15pm yesterday (Jan 2), an hour after the matter was made known.

"This shows that the Padu team and the Economy Ministry view that the use of the system is feasible," he said.

Fahmi was asked if use of the Padu system would be suspended as suggested by former deputy international trade minister Ong Kian Ming, who claimed that a major flaw of Padu is the way it collects information.

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He suggested that Padu should be suspended until any flaws are addressed.

Padu, which was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday (Jan 2) is a government database containing detailed individual and household profiles of all citizens in the country.

One of its primary goals is to help the government deliver targeted assistance, with accumulated federal subsidies for petrol reaching hundreds of billions, with more than half used by high or upper middle-income earners.

Earlier, Fahmi said 230,000 individuals have successfully registered since Padu was launched on Tuesday, with 71% completing the e-KYC validation.