6.03 million Malaysians registered on Padu as at March 19, says Deputy Minister

KUALA LUMPUR: As of Tuesday (March 19), 6.03 million Malaysians, or 27.4% of those eligible, have registered with the Central Database Hub (Padu), says Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib.

The Deputy Economy Minister told the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (March 20) that the government has implemented various initiatives to increase registrations, especially in rural areas.

She then said that the government has opened counters in various locations such as 911 economic digital centres, 27 Urban Transformation Centres (UTC) and Rural Transformation Centres (RTC), as well as Health offices and state and parliamentary service offices.

“This also directly involves penghulu, village heads, tuai rumah and the village community management councils with the state Statistics Department to reach interior settlements that are difficult to access," she said.

Hanifah said this in reply to a question from Mohamad Shafizan Haji Kepli (GPS-Batang Lupar) during the Ministers' Question Time.

She then said the government has also conducted programmes with the Orang Asli state committee to reach the Orang Asli and interior areas without Internet access.

Mohamad Shafizan asked whether there were alternatives for individuals who are unable to register in the Padu system for various reasons.

Hanifah said to ensure those who do not register for Padu do not get left behind for subsidies and aid, the government would also integrate administrative data from various public sectors.

She said this included state and local governments, government-linked companies (GLCs) and Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLICs) to develop comprehensive data according to individuals and households.

She said this includes data of 8.6 million Rahmah cash assistance applicants (STR) for the B40 group.

Meanwhile, Kalam Salan (PN-Sabak Bernam) asked about the government’s strategies to ensure that data sensitivities are protected under Padu.

Hanifah said the government has ensured the safety and security of the system with Padu data protected based on guidelines from the National Digital Department, as well as providing security in terms of access control and ensuring that the information stored in Padu is under the purview of the Statistics Department.