Padu: 'Don’t announce if it’s not ready’ – Hamzah

SHAH ALAM - The opposition leader took a jab at the government regarding the failure of the National Central Database System (Padu) since its launch last Tuesday.

Perikatan Nasional (PN) Secretary-General Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said that thorough preparation should have been made before making it public.

"We've heard various criticisms about Padu which was launched by the Prime Minister last Tuesday.

"Not only strong supporters of the government have criticised it, but also non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the people have spoken.

"What's with the government? If you're not ready, don't announce it first," he said in a Facebook post today.

Previously, Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) former deputy minister Dr Ong Kian Ming urged the government to postpone the Padu registration process until several security flaws were fixed.

He clarified that this step was necessary due to existing issues in the system, including requiring users to fill in the same information already available in the database.

Padu was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC).

The objective of the system was to provide a secure, comprehensive and near-real-time national database for more accurate data analytics.

The Padu system includes the formulation of policies and decision-making processes based on data, as well as enabling targeted policy implementation to balance fiscal positions.

Profile information would be obtained through the integration of administrative data from various sources, and part of it would be updated by individuals.