Access to Padu data restricted

PETALING JAYA: Only a handful of personnel under the Statistics Department (DOSM) have access to the Central Database Hub (Padu), said Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

This was the assurance by the nation’s chief statistician to allay worries over potential security breaches or leaks of Padu data, while stressing that no third parties have access to the system.

Unlike the current arrangement where data is stored and managed by different departments and agencies, Padu is be solely handled by a select group of officers in DOSM.

“DOSM is the agency responsible for Padu, which is governed under the Statistics Act, which stipulates that the integrated data is to be protected and not compromised or shared,” he said yesterday.

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“DOSM has its own data scientists and experts to verify the data, which is currently ongoing,” he said.

Worries over the security of Padu data was recently raised again by several quarters, including Ayer Hitam MP Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong in the Dewan Rakyat, who sought a guarantee from Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli against hacks or data leaks.

As of midnight March 27, 8.79 million individuals had updated their data in Padu, and the government is aiming to get 10 million people to verify their data by March 31.

“We are very confident that we are able to surpass the 10 million target, or the 50% mark. This is due to the spike in the numbers of those updating their data over the past week,” Dr Mohd Uzir said.

The updated data will be scrutinised by DOSM to allow the government to draft and implement specific aid programmes for those needing assistance.

“The department will come out with the profile of individuals, where they are and their age group, so that the right policies can be drafted by the government based on informed data.

“The minister responsible will have to table this to the Cabinet for discussions before implementing the required aid programmes.”

Although the government has set March 31 for Malaysians to update their data in Padu, Dr Mohd Uzir said that the deadline was not the end of the line.

“Padu is a new initiative which needs time. It is not a one-off thing but a journey. We will see what sort of initiative that can be done after this. For this round, the deadline is March 31.”

He said that the government did not want people to take things easy by assuming that there will another round of registration.

So far, the majority of those who have updated their Padu details are from the B40 group, although some from the M40 and T20 groups had also done so, he said.

In February, DOSM recorded 60,000 daily updates, with the number increasing to 70,000 per day on March 18 to about 200,000 the following day. As the deadline approaches, daily updates to Padu have reached 300,000 per day.

He added that Perlis, Terrengganu, Kelantan, Sarawak and Perak had among the highest update rates, while Selangor and Johor were among the lowest.