Economists say new analytics mean nothing if coordination remains broken for those in need
PETALING JAYA: Economists say the government’s latest move to expand the Central Data Repository (Pangkalan Data Utama or Padu) beyond verification into analytics will only matter if it helps solve the actual problem of aid leakage and fragmentation.
They said the system was originally meant to ensure that targeted subsidies and assistance reach the right people more fairly, while reducing gaps and mismatches on the ground
Malaysian Institute of Economic Research and Universiti Malaya Social Wellbeing Research Centre senior research fellow Dr Zulkiply Omar said Padu’s value should not be seen merely as a data-gathering exercise but as a way to address the long-standing fragmentation of government social assistance.
He said one of the biggest weaknesses in the existing system was that aid and welfare support were spread across multiple channels without enough coordination, creating coverage gaps that left some deserving recipients out while allowing others to receive more than they should.
“Of course, it is getting closer to the original goal because in the first place, we were not just trying to collect information.
“The bigger issue to address was that government social assistance has long been very fragmented. In the past, we had a lot of coverage gaps. There were exclusion errors, meaning people who should get assistance did not get it.
“There were also inclusion errors, where some people who were better informed ended up getting more. So we need a system that can coordinate all this better,” he told theSun.
Zulkiply said the move to add analytics was a positive development because it would help shift the system from simply storing information to supporting evidence-based decisions.
He said that in practical terms, this could help the government improve both the coverage and adequacy of assistance, making aid delivery more efficient and fairer to recipients.
Putra Business School MBA and DBA programmes director Prof Dr Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff said Padu is strong enough to support targeted subsidy measures such as RON95, as it allows the government to assess eligibility using broader indicators instead of relying solely on monthly income.
However, he said the system’s biggest weakness remained the low number of adults who had updated their personal details, warning that this could still cause many eligible recipients to miss out.
“The system is already robust enough to serve as the main base for targeted RON95 subsidies because the information in the database is relevant in identifying those who are actually eligible, not merely based on monthly income alone.
“But the main weakness is that only about half of Malaysia’s adult population has updated their personal information in Padu.
“This means many could still be left out of targeted aid, while the government may also face difficulty estimating the true subsidy allocation needed each year,” he said.
At a press conference after the Economy Ministry’s monthly assembly, Economy Minister Datuk Seri Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said Padu’s build-out phase was complete and the next challenge was to deepen agency use of the platform.
He said Padu would begin offering an analytics service to government agencies from May, on top of its current verification role, with 26 agencies and departments approved to use the system as of March.
Padu was introduced under former Economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli as a central socio-economic database to sharpen subsidy targeting, aid delivery and broader government planning.
