KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — The government's newly-launched Central Database Hub (Padu) should be suspended until it addresses all the flaws surrounding its data security, former Bangi MP and deputy international trade minister Ong Kian Ming said today.
Padu was launched just yesterday amid fanfare with the Anwar government touting it as a "game-changer" that would plug billions of ringgit in subsidy leakages that often end up with the upper middle class and the rich, but users immediately found serious problems with the platform that went live shortly after the launch.
According to Ong, one of the major flaws with Padu is how it collects information.
"I take no joy in writing this statement. I wanted the Padu database to be successfully launched because the intended purpose of this database was for the rollout of more targeted subsidies... sadly, the Padu database, as it stands, will not be useful in achieving this objective," he said in a statement.
"Firstly, those who are currently receiving government aid such as Bantuan Tunai Rahmah (BTR) but are not eligible to because they have other non-taxed income such as rental income from houses and land they own will NOT fill in the accurate information in Padu," the DAP politician added.
"Secondly, some users including myself are wondering as to why so many of these columns are not filled given that Padu is supposed to have consolidated data (from) a number of Ministries and Agencies including LHDN, EPF, Perkeso, JPN and ICU, just to name a few."
Rafizi Ramli, the Minister of Economy, said on X shortly after the database launch that the information was not displayed because of security concerns over possible hacking into Padu’s servers.
But Ong questioned why users are still required to provide personal information if this information is already available via government ministries and agencies.
"What if the information supplied is not the same as what is found in Padu’s database? How does Padu verify the other information which is supplied by the user such as rental income from land or property?" he asked.
Padu's requirement for more additional data risks encouraging the public from giving accurate information to stay eligible for government subsidies, Ong suggested.
Ong noted Padu also allows a user to register information for others by just providing the person's identity card number and the postcode associated with the IC address, without having to undergo stringent verification.
"There is a major security issue with the registration of Padu whereby if you have the IC number and the postcode associated with the IC address of a user, you can register for the Padu account for that person, without having to go through the E-KYC (electronic Know Your Customer) process," he said.
The Anwar Cabinet touted Padu as the most comprehensive database established by the government to date, with the system supposedly containing detailed individual and household profiles of all citizens and permanent residents in Malaysia.
Rafizi said Padu is meant to provide a safe, comprehensive and near real-time national main database that enables more accurate data analytics to help improve policy-making.
One of the platform's primary goals is to help the government deliver targeted assistance.
Accumulated federal subsidies for petrol over years have reached over hundreds of billions but over half of it are used by high or upper middle-income earners.
Ong suggested that Padu should be properly stressed before it is rolled out again.
"I hope that my former colleagues in the Cabinet will not see this as a move to undermine their governing objectives," he said.
"In highlighting these flaws in the Padu system, I hope that they can be quickly rectified before the next parliamentary sitting so that the opposition parties in Perikatan Nasional (PN) will not have the opportunity to make this into a point of political debate."
