KUCHING, March 22 — The Sarawak state government has some reservations about the implementation of the central data hub (Padu) because it is suspicious of its true intention, Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said today.

At its recent meeting, he said the state Cabinet had instructed Deputy Minister of Law, Malaysia Agreement 1963 and State-Federal Relations Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali to look into the matter thoroughly.

“For Sarawak, we want Padu to be restructured,” Karim told reporters after launching the 27th edition of the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) 2024 here.

“Personally I am against Padu,” he stressed.

He also questioned the need for the federal government to come up with Padu when there is already e-Kasih to register people who want financial assistance from the government.

“I don’t know if the media practitioners have filled the Padu form. The moment you fill out the form, you practically expose everything, such as your bank account, ASB account, house, your wife’s name and the names of your children and property.

“It is just like telling you to be naked. Do you want to do it?” he asked.

“I don’t think it is a proper way to treat your citizens,” he said.

He said it appears that the federal government is forcing everybody to fill out the Padu form.

He fears that the data collected from filling out the form will be used for political reasons when elections come.

He said he had not heard of a memo allegedly written by a Resident’s Office to District Officers, community leaders and Village Security and Development Committees (JKKK) that was widely circulated on social media.

He said it is possible that the memo was written following an instruction from the Sarawak Secretary’s Office.

According to the memo sighted by Malay Mail, the district officers, community leaders and JKKK were directed not to register information at Padu with immediate effect.

He said he feels that there is no need to rush into filling out the Padu form, adding that a thorough study has to be made first.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/03/22/sarawak-minister-says-padu-needs-to-be-restructured-fears-data-collected-will-be-misused/124905