Economy minister Rafizi Ramli announced that the government will reopen the Pangkalan Data Utama (PADU) registration system for its second phase.
The move aims to allow individuals who have not yet registered to update their information within the specified period.
Rafizi emphasised the government’s call for cooperation from all parties in raising awareness about the value of using PADU data.
He noted that in the future, this data would be essential for forming government intervention programs and identifying recipients of assistance, according to Berita Harian.
Rafizi also revealed that phase one of PADU which concluded in March 2024 recorded a total of 10,544,016 individuals who updated their information.
Rafizi further emphasised that the primary goal of PADU is to improve the efficiency of policy planning and resource allocation, particularly in targeting subsidies and government assistance more effectively.
No date has been given on when the second phase of PADU registration will begin or how long it will last.
Additionally, he disclosed that Selangor recorded the highest registration for PADU, with 1.76 million participants, of which 178,045 are civil servants. Johor was next with 1.24 million, followed by Sarawak with 1.07 million.
The federal territories of Labuan and Putrajaya, with 31,710 and 37,496 registrants respectively, along with Perlis at 110,082, had the lowest number of sign-ups.
To recap, PADU stands for Pangkalan Data Utama or Central Database Hub, which is a national central database system in Malaysia.
It integrates information from various government departments and agencies under one roof.
The goal is to provide a secure, comprehensive, and near real-time platform for generating periodic economic analytics and digitalisation without data loss.
The data will be utilised to determine eligibility for government assistance and subsidies.
Once the registration is opened again, Malaysians can visit the PADU portal to create an account and fill in their information.