KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called on Malaysians to register and update their information on the national Central Database System (Padu) to address leakages in the allocation of government expenditures and subsidies.
In a Facebook post, he said Padu was established to ensure that only eligible individuals would benefit from subsidies and other forms of government assistance.
He said despite the government's expenditure of RM22bil to assist the needy, these funds did not reach the intended groups due to various leakages.
"Even the RM80bil subsidy, meant for the poor, is being enjoyed by 3.5 million foreigners and the super-rich. Extreme poverty should not persist in this country if the RM22bil expenditure and the RM80bil subsidies are intended for the poor and needy.
"Therefore, I am committed to stopping the leakage of government funds and preventing the rights of the poor from being overtaken by the wealthy and capable," he said, while encouraging Malaysians to register their Padu accounts.
Anwar added that every individual aged 18 years should update their information in Padu.
Malaysians have until March 31 this year to update and verify their information with Padu through https://padu.gov.my/.
Individuals who fail to do so risk exclusion from receiving targeted subsidies as it would be based on updated data in Padu.