KUALA LUMPUR: In the latest episode of 'Beyond the Headlines', we dive into two heated debates that made top news the past week — Padu and the 'Dubai Move'.
The Central Database Hub (Padu) went live on Jan 2, after nearly six months of development and testing.
Economy Ministry secretary-general Datuk Nor Azmie Diron said the system would be open to users to update their information until March 31.
However, issues regarding bugs and vulnerabilities during user registration sparked public outcry online causing the public to lose confidence over the government's initiative.
In the aftermath, the Economy Ministry took to task in amending several issues regarding registration, and addressed loophole claims where a person's identification card (IC) number can be used to override and change their passwords.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli in a post on X said:
"This weakness in handling authentication was not found during the Security Posture Assessment (SPA) and the team took immediate action where the solution was implemented within an hour."
Despite the friction, the minister then announced that over a million registrations were recorded within eight days of PADU's launch, sparking considerations on its future trajectory.
Economic expert Professor Geoffrey Williams joined the panel to discuss the extent of PADU's strengths, especially in leveraging the expertise of civil servants, prompting a discussion on how this differs from engaging external consultants beyond cost reduction.
He explained the pivotal role of managing data within Padu — how the system distinguishes between individual and household qualifications for subsidies and shared insights about the potential to streamline governmental functionalities and expedite aid distribution.
The discussion also touched on Malaysia's readiness for its first integrated data system and how data synchronisation can take place, especially for those without basic internet access or others that are skeptical of big data.
Separately the discussion also circled around the unravelling of allegations on another potential backdoor government, which headlines today dubbed as the 'Dubai Move'.
Numerous reports were lodged on the move.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigations Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said out of a total 77 reports, 44 were filed by the public while the rest were lodged by individuals associated with political parties.
This prompted a discussion on the commonality and counter-denials of such a culture of faction hopping, joined by political analyst Professor Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmood.
More in the video interview…
*This episode of 'Beyond the Headlines' was recorded on Dec 11.