More than 200 Padu service counters opened

On record: People registering at the Padu counter provided by the Sabah DOSM at the Urban Transformation Centre in Kota Kinabalu.

PETALING JAYA: More than 200 counters have been set up nationwide to help Central Database Hub (Padu) registrations, says the Statistics Department (DOSM).

Its chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said 206 of 217 counters had been activated as of yesterday. He said some 11,418 registrations have been made through these counters, which opened between 9am and 6pm daily, depending on the location.

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“The counters are located at DOSM’s state and operations offices as well as digital economy centres, urban transformation centres and identified hotspots,” he said when contacted.

Information counters are also available to encourage the public to register and make public service announcements.

Mohd Uzir said as of noon yesterday, Padu had received a total of 762,992 registrations.

Selangor recorded the highest number at 175,865, followed by Johor (82,001), Sarawak (68,941), Perak (68,448), Sabah (57,045), Kuala Lumpur (52,996), Kedah (49,586), Penang (42,015), Negri Sembilan (38,017), Kelantan (35,201), Pahang (34,729), Melaka (24,251), Terengganu (21,275), Perlis (6,645) and Labuan (1,773).

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Padu, launched on Jan 2, is the government’s central hub for data on citizens, aimed at distributing aid and subsidies efficiently and accurately.

The database, which civil servants took six months to build, is part of the government’s overall plan to restructure subsidies for fuel and electricity, which are currently enjoyed by everyone regardless of their income levels.

Several parties had raised concerns about Padu, with some calling for the system to be suspended until its perceived flaws are fixed.“Until now, no official reports have been received on data breaches. Continuous monitoring will be carried out to watch for any breach in the system,” Mohd Uzir said.

Aside from just household and individual income, Padu contains data on the number of dependents a person has, their household size, cost of living based on where they live, distance to workplace and assets.