PUTRAJAYA, Jan 19 — Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said that the Central Database System (Padu) registration increased to 1.29 million people as of today.

He said that among the registered individuals, Putrajaya led with the highest percentage at 9.8 per cent, followed closely by Sarawak at 7.8 per cent and Perlis.

"As of 4pm on Friday, 1,291,459 individuals aged 18 and above have registered on Padu.

"The challenge now is to increase the registration as soon as possible because although it is in terms of total registration, 1.64 million Malaysians including those under 18 were registered in a period of about two weeks which is a good performance, but we want to ensure that around 30 million people who update their data including children under 18,” he said during a news conference at Department of Statistics Malaysia here, today.

He also expressed surprise at Sarawak’s high registration numbers, noting that the conventional concerns related to connectivity and geography did not hinder the state’s participation.

"Putrajaya becomes the highest because of civil servants. If you take that into account, then the state with the highest registration would be Sarawak.

"While planning initiatives involving registration typically raise concerns for Sabah and Sarawak due to their geographical challenges, Sarawak has proven to be a standout performer,” he said.

Padu registration pattern decreased two days after it was launched on January 2, but increased again on January 15.

Recognising the need for intervention to maintain momentum, he pledged to reach out to chief ministers and state leaders within a month to ensure active participation at the state level.

"I will contact the menteri besar as soon as possible to discuss the results we have observed in Sarawak,” he said.

When asked about the potential compulsion of Padu registration for civil servants, Rafizi clarified that it remains voluntary.

"If you look at the salary scale, many civil servants previously dropped out of government programmes while those in big cities face high living costs,” he said.

On January 2, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim officially launched Padu to pave the way for a fairer distribution of targeted subsidies for Malaysians 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.