PETALING JAYA: The Central Database Hub (Padu) registration deadline concluded on Sunday, prompting Malaysians, particularly those who registered at the last minute, to share their positive and negative experiences.

Padu was open for registration for all Malaysians on Jan 2. However, it was a difficult battle for some who chose to register their information on March 31, the deadline for deserving Malaysians to receive government aid.

Roy, a 75-year-old retiree who used to work in the private sector, said he was sceptical about the questions posed in Padu when filling in his details online.

He said among the information sought in his profile update were his Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) account details.

“For a system that is meant to provide financial aid, why does it need to know how much money you have in a certain bank account?

“I retired more than a decade ago; surely the government already has some details on that. I don’t have any monthly income and rely on my savings,” he said, adding that he hoped that the information provided to the government earlier was adequate for him to receive aid as a pensioner.

Roy said the last part of Padu’s e-KYC process to prove his identification by taking and uploading photos of his identity card was troublesome.

On March 17, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the success rate for e-KYC processes was almost 80% as the algorithm had improved.

Syahir Ahmad, 34, who works in the private sector, said he managed to update his profile on the deadline day of March 31.

Syahir said he encountered technical difficulties earlier when filling out his details and was able to finish the updates within 30 minutes.

“Initially, I did not want to update my information because I had tried earlier and had some technical issues. I tried logging into my account on Sunday just to see if it was possible to update my profile since it was the last day.

“I found it quite smooth except for some parts where I needed to fill in the details and the system said it was inaccurate, but I managed to rectify them,” he added.

Checks by The Star yesterday found that users who had registered their information earlier were still able to update their information with Padu.

However, they said they were unsure if their updates would be reflected in the system.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/04/02/the-ups-and-downs-of-padu