PUTRAJAYA, March 18 — A total of 5.43 million individuals across the country have updated their data in the Central Database Hub (Padu) as of March 17, according to Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.
However, he said there were also 4,752 areas identified nationwide where the residents have not registered with Padu or any government assistance programme before.
“The residents of these areas, although identified as B40 and B60, did not have their data listed in any government assistance database before.
“Therefore, they are at risk of being left out from receiving or from being included in any future government programmes and assistance,” he told a press conference here today.
Selangor leads the list of areas not yet covered by Padu with 1,282 areas, followed by Kuala Lumpur (992), Sarawak (765), Sabah (620), Johor (271), Penang (243), Kelantan (228), Kedah (157), Pahang (70), Perak (67), Terengganu (35), Negeri Sembilan (eight), Perlis (seven), Putrajaya (five) and Melaka (two).
Rafizi said most of the areas were PPR or public housing flats, condominiums, apartments, low-cost houses, quarters, shop houses, water houses or longhouses, and individual homes.
As such, he said the Economy Ministry and Padu team would focus the last two weeks of Padu registration — before the March 31 deadline — to intensify efforts to get individuals and households registeredin the database, especially those identified as having the highest risk of being left behind.
He said a town hall session will be held this Saturday at the MBSA Convention Centre in Shah Alam aimed at providing information on the benefits of Padu and obtaining cooperation from relevant parties to help increase registration among residents, especially in Selangor and the Kuala Lumpur.
The town hall session will also be attended by the relevant MPs, assemblymen, district officers, mayors and presidents of local authorities, as well as representatives from joint management bodies (JMB).
Rafizi said Padu registration counters will also be open throughout the town hall session to assist residents in registering and updating their data on the system.
“I also call on all state governments to take similar steps to encourage Padu registration for residents in those areas,” he said.
Taking Kuala Lumpur as an example, Rafizi said areas with a higher non-Malay population such as Seputeh, Segambut and Bukit Bintang are at risk of exclusion because these groups may not be aware of the government’s assistance programmes.
This is because the previous approach required individuals in need to go to government departments to apply for government aid, but with Padu, the government can identify individuals eligible for assistance.
Padu, launched on January 2, is a government initiative to develop a database that will serve as the primary source of reference for all government agencies in making decisions based on accurate data, in addition to enhancing the efficiency of service delivery to improve people’s wellbeing.
It also aims to assist the government in strengthening the nation’s fiscal sustainability and providing space to implement fiscal reforms to enhance spending efficiency.
— Bernama
