PADU (Pangkalan Data Utama) was launched on the 2nd of January 2024. In case you have been living under a rock, PADU is a central database system that seeks to incorporate data from government agencies into one system. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has stated back in May 2023 that the data the government currently has is incomplete; this makes it hard to formulate good plans and policies for the rakyat.
With PADU, the government's goal is to help search, keep and store data better which will then aid the government in providing holistic data to assist the ones who need it the most in the form of targeted subsidies and social protection. As described, PADU seems to be a good initiative by the government; PADU looks good…on paper that is.
Here are several reasons why PADU is a disaster from the get-go:
1. Identity theft
Former Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ong Kian Ming has taken to Twitter (now known as X) to expose one of PADU's many major flaws: identity theft. He stated that anyone with your IC and postcode of your IC address can register (on PADU) your IC on your behalf since registration is before the eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) approval which takes 3 days. He further adds that “anyone with access to the electoral roll (for e.g.) or any database with names, IC Nos and Addresses, can key in any phone no for the OTP to be sent to and register a ton of PADU accounts.” Not only that, you can skip the eKYC process and head on to registration.
He also tested it out by obtaining the IC nos and postcodes of his colleagues from the electoral roll and registered PADU accounts using his own phone number and email address, and sure enough those colleagues can no longer register accounts by themselves.
2. Cybersecurity issues
To add insult to injury, one Twitter user, useState('drmsr') has stated in a post that all he needs is an IC number to override and change your PADU login password. This is a major weakness in the API (Application Programming Interface) of PADU's system which allows unscrupulous individuals to change the login information by using only the IC number. This shows that the government did not run a penetration test which if they did, would have exposed this weakness.
You might be thinking to yourself, “Not everyone has my IC number, right? So what's all the fuss?”. You are in for a treat - just recently on 2nd of December 2023, SOCSO suffered a cyberattack on its website, system and database. The hacker group responsible for the attack has shared sample data containing personal information on a forum and it includes full names, IC numbers, phone numbers, salaries, and even your blood type! So it is possible that unscrupulous individuals could have used the information given to change your PADU login password with ONLY your IC number.
3. Not everyone can access the internet
PADU requires people to sign up online which is fine and dandy for us who can access the internet but what about those who can't? Like the people in rural Sarawak and Sabah? It is worth mentioning that Sabah has a fixed broadband penetration rate of only 16.1%, one of the lowest in the nation. Prof Madya Dr Aimi Zulhazmi Abdul Rashid would agree with me as he stated in an interview on Berita Harian that “we must not forget that not everyone has access to the internet and can register online especially those who live in rural areas or the homeless who are not financially capable to own a smartphone”. Ironically, these are the people who desperately need targeted subsidies and social protection that come with the implementation of PADU.
Let's not forget about the elderly. Malaysia is an ageing nation and by 2030, 15% of the population would be over 65. The MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) surveyed Internet usage and found that 11% of the population were not Internet users. Half of those who were not Internet users were senior adults. With the digital literacy rate being as low as it is among the elderly, can we expect them to sign up for PADU and get the assistance they need?
These are the major issues with PADU. It should come as no surprise that PADU has so many issues as according to Rafizi Ramli, it was built in 7 months and built by civil servants who have to work on it on top of their existing task; meaning there is no dedicated team for PADU (see 20:45 mark of this video). Short deadline + no dedicated team = complete disaster. Maybe PADU = 'Plan Ahead, Don't Understand'. What are your thoughts on the issues plaguing PADU and PADU itself? Let me know in the comments.
Aaron Colt is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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