PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet will decide on the mechanism for targeted subsidies next week and this is expected to spike registration under the Central Database Hub (Padu), says Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.
He said the mechanism to be decided entails the type of subsidy, the amount and eligible recipients, but did not elaborate.
"We roughly know what is the mechanism and the target group. What we are attempting to do is to ensure that the subsidies reach the target group.
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"It was a long process drawing up the programme, especially to ensure that subsidies benefit those intended," he said.
Asked when the announcement would be made, Rafizi said the Prime Minister would decide.
"Once the Cabinet decides on it, it will be up to the Prime Minister to find an appropriate time to announce the forms of targeted subsidies the government will be rolling out," he said at a press conference here on Friday (Jan 19).
Rafizi said they expect Padu registrations to spike once the announcement is made.
"So I would like to advise the public to register now because there will be a surge in registrations later," he said.
As of 4pm Friday, 1,638,342 people including children under 18 years old have registered with Padu.
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He said the Prime Minister had told the Public Service Department director-general to ensure that all 1.3 million civil servants register with Padu as soon as possible.
"While it is not compulsory, it will be beneficial for civil servants to register so they will not be at risk of losing out from government programmes.
"I will also be meeting with mentris besar and chief ministers as well as state leaderships to get their help and involvement in boosting registration," he said.
According to records, 9.8% of Putrajaya's residents have registered with Padu, followed by Sarawak with 7.5%.
Perlis, Negri Sembilan, Labuan, Terengganu, Sabah, Selangor, Perak and Melaka have recorded registration above 6%.
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Padu registration is open to the public from Jan 2 to March 31 and users can update and verify 30 personal details, including ID card number, household number and residential address.
Padu will act as a national database of socio-economic information for every household in the country, providing regular analytics with a comprehensive store of data updated in "near real time".
Padu is intended to allow for data-driven policy making and decision-making, while enabling targeted policy implementation.
