‘Update data on PADU to avoid being left out of first round aid eligibility determination’

PUTRAJAYA: Individuals who are eligible for government assistance but do not update their data in the Central Database Hub (PADU) by the end of this month are at risk of being left out from the first round of aid eligibility determination after the targeted subsidy programme is implemented.

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli those individuals would have to wait for the next round when PADU reopens for updates at a regular frequency level that will be determined by the government later. He said updating PADU by March 31 is important so that existing data can be worked on and algorithm development can be done to determine eligibility parameters including disposable income, family’s basic living expenses and discretionary income.

“We have to follow the accurate timeline for the implementation of the targetted subsidy programme and that timeline requires the data to be ready by March 31, 2024. The updating process will not be permanently closed, but I’m sure if we keep it open and they still hesitate (to register and update their data), it won’t do any good,” he told a press conference here Monday.

Rafizi said the next step would be developing the API (Application Programming Interface) so that those over 300 government databases are connected and updated automatically in PADU.

“That’s what we mean by creating a central government database that is updated close to real-time,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rafizi also refuted a news portal’s report that the public were disappointed when most of the registration service counters they went to, were closed. Explaining the issue, the minister said the PADU and Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) team had been on the ground since the first week of January and had opened counters in localities which were deemed more effective.

“Since January, we have received many requests from residents’ associations, elected representatives, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) for the PADU and DOSM teams to open counters in their areas. In Selangor, for example, DOSM counters are open seven days a week from morning to night. It is not true to say that the counters are closed, as if the officers are not working, that is not true,” he said.

Rafizi also said 5.43 million individuals across the country have updated their data in the PADU as of March 17. 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 behind from receiving or from being included in any future government programmes and assistance,” he said.

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, lowcost houses, quarters, shop houses, water houses or longhouses, and individual homes.

As such, he said the Ministry of Economy and the PADU team would give their focus in the last two weeks before the last date to update data on PADU on March 31, to intensify the registration of individuals and households in the database, especially those identified as having the highest risk of being left behind. — Bernama