Rafizi: Padu data ready, waiting for the right moment

PUTRAJAYA: The data in the Central Database Hub (PADU) system is ready for the government to implement the people’s programmes including targeted subsidies at any time, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

However, any decision regarding the implementation of the mechanism will only be decided by the government at a suitable time to avoid inflationary speculation.

"The government is trying its best to avoid inflationary speculation, therefore it is best that we keep the sequencing close to our chest.

"The guessing game is to really manage the balance on how the market and society behave," he told the media when asked about Padu’s progress after the launch of the second season of the Innovathon television reality show, here yesterday.

Rafizi said he was worried that some groups would take advantage by raising prices and making a profit if the government’s sequencing, schedule and decision arrived in a way that was not exactly according to the plan.

He said, what is best for the government at the moment is to provide everyone with information about the data and when the government feels it is the appropriate period, and the appropriate mechanism has been decided, it will happen.

On Jan 2, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim launched Padu which is a system containing individual and household profiles covering citizens and permanent residents in Malaysia.

Padu’s objective is to provide a secure, comprehensive and near-real-time national primary database, which enables more accurate data analytics to be produced as well as policy formulation and data-driven decision-making processes, in addition to enabling targeted policy implementation to balance the fiscal position.