A STATE assemblyman with the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in one of the most remote and geographically difficult regions in Sarawak has acknowledged that a gargantuan effort awaits the government in its attempt to register folks in the Central Database Hub (Padu), successfully covering every rural settlement.
Telang Usan rep Dennis Ngau cautioned that most people among the rural Sarawak populace are still not aware of what this online system is about.
Padu is a central profiling system managed by Putrajaya for all Malaysians to ascertain if they qualify for government assistance like subsidies for essential items and other forms of aid for lower income groups.
"We want to fully give our support to all efforts being made by the federal and state governments to bring betterment to the rural communities.
"To get the Padu profiling done, a comprehensive registration has to be carried out.
"Most of the rural folks are still unaware of Padu and how to register,” he said at a Sarawak Kayan Association gathering in Kuching yesterday.
Ngau is the president of the association and a member of the Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), the backbone of the GPS coalition.
"We will need to a carry out enormous amount of awareness outreach to help our rural population register for Padu since they will need the required mobile telecommunication facilities," he said.
He added that all bodies representing ethnic communities must chip in to help in the registration effort.
Launched on January 2, Padu contains profiles of the socio-economic status of individuals and households, including citizens and permanent residents in Malaysia.
It covers nearly 300 types of data under the federal government and will also progressively in the future take in data from state and local governments.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli has said that Malaysians can update their personals details that are on the system by doing so online until March 31.
The Vibes has reported on concerns that many communities in rural and isolated areas do not have Internet connection or even a mobile phone, and would thus not be able to access the system.
Elected state assembly members and MPs have yet to carry out any outreach programme to explain to grassroots communities.
There are people who do not know much about the need to go online to apply and complete a registration process.
This also affects people in similar circumstances in urban areas.
Willie Kajan, community elder of the Tring-Berawan minority ethnic organisation, pointed out that one needs a mobile phone to get a personal password when registering.
This would be very difficult for those who do not have handphones or are in locations without mobile telecommunications coverage.
"The elected politicians must start going to the ground and explain all these to the grassroot folks," said Kajan.
Sarawak Pakatan Harapan (PH) information chief Senator Abun Sui Anyit also raised this worry, and called on Putrajaya not to impose a deadline for the registration among those in rural districts.
Added to this is the concern raised by professionals on the fragile security of the data in the system.
Ong Kian Ming, a former deputy minister of the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI), called on the cabinet to suspend the registration process until the cybersecurity issues are resolved.
He pointed to a major loophole with the registration process. Someone can register for another person's Padu account by just having the IC number and postcode associated with the IC address of the other. – The Vibes, January 9, 2024
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