PETALING JAYA: Sabah deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan has expressed concern over the economic system ministry’s push for Malaysians to register with the central database hub (Padu), citing information privateness specifically.
With about 65% of Malaysia’s inhabitants but to register, Kitingan mentioned this mirrored a profound lack of belief within the initiative.
“I’m additionally uncomfortable that economic system minister Rafizi Ramli’s remarks on this situation have been too assertive, verging on coercive. Therefore, I urge the minister to pause and reassess the technique,” he mentioned in a press release at present.
The Tambunan assemblyman mentioned the March 31 deadline to register appeared hasty, and questioned if Padu’s system was really safe and whether or not Putrajaya had the aptitude to safeguard customers’ info.
He additionally agreed with Sarawak minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah that Padu was fairly redundant given the existence of different methods reminiscent of e-Kasih or the database used to disburse Rahmah money assist.
“There are additionally extra pertinent questions like who developed Padu and the way will the information be protected? What would occur if the information was leaked?
“With Malaysia the eighth most breached nation on the earth, I feel Padu is the very last thing the federal government must introduce proper now,” he mentioned, citing a report launched by cybersecurity agency Surfshark final yr.
Kitingan additionally advised that the information required by Padu solely be managed by the respective states.
Sarawak has suspended Padu registrations pending a gathering with Rafizi’s ministry.
Last week, Karim known as on Putrajaya to exempt higher-income teams from registering with Padu since they might not require authorities help.
This was dismissed by Rafizi, who mentioned it was Karim’s “private view”.
Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg had additionally voiced considerations over sure points with Padu to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, which Rafizi mentioned might be mentioned when he meets the state authorities this week.
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As of yesterday, 7.7 million folks have registered and up to date their info on Padu.
