PUTRAJAYA, Jan 4 — Putrajaya said today that Malaysians were given March 31 as the deadline to register and update their details in the Central Database Hub (Padu) so targeted subsidies can then be distributed as soon as possible.

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said Putrajaya can extend the deadline, but this would mean that needy Malaysians would receive the aid later.

"We wanted some leeway to decide the policy measures and to find the best suitable plan for the government to ensure all your data privacy. Then the March 31 date came so that after we got all the data, we can make our decisions on what’s the best subsidy rationalisation programme,” he told reporters here.

"It’s already a tall order for agencies to identify who really needs the aid and who is getting it because their information online shows they are eligible when in truth they may have three cars but the salary in the database says they are earning RM500.

"So the sooner we get the data the faster we can administer aid and also think about it, if we push to June, then it’ll take longer to implement the projects we want to, so we need to push the timeline and be ambitious with this,” he added.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim officially launched Padu to pave the way towards a fairer distribution of targeted subsidies for Malaysians in need.

In his speech, Anwar acknowledged the criticism that followed Padu’s announcement but spoke of the need to digitise the delivery system, saying that failure to do so would benefit undeserving groups such as those who are affluent over those truly in need.

Padu — now considered the most comprehensive database established by the government to date — is a system containing individual and household profiles encompassing citizens and permanent residents in Malaysia.

The objective of Padu is to provide a safe, comprehensive and near real-time national main database that enables more accurate data analytics to be produced as well as for policy formulation and data-driven decision-making processes, besides enabling targeted policy implementation to balance the fiscal position.

Padu integrates microdata from various government departments and agencies to create profiles of individuals and households for some 28.3 million Malaysian citizens.