KUALA LUMPUR: The Economy Ministry has denied claims that the low registration rate among non-Bumiputeras for the Central Database Hub (Padu) was due to a trust deficit towards the government.

Its minister, Rafizi Ramli, said instead, it was because non-Bumiputeras were not used to receiving government aid.

"That is why many of them are not in the government system, and a lot of them feel that they are in the M40 (middle 40) category, therefore are not eligible for aid.

"That is the reason, not because there is a trust deficit."

Rafizi said this in response to a supplementary question from Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (Perikatan Nasional-Pasir Mas) during the question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Ahmad Fadhli raised the issue of Sabah and Sarawak state governments questioning the Padu system, adding that PN-led states had no trouble with the initiative.

"How did the government conduct their engagement with state governments? It is as if there is no uniformity.

"A few days ago, you also said that non-Malays were among the highest group of those who did not register for Padu. What is the reason, is there a high trust deficit towards the government?" he questioned.

Rafizi, who is also Pandan member of parliament, said it was important to convince the non-Malays that they would be at risk of exclusion from government aid and subsidies.

"Among the non-Bumiputera population, not all of them are wealthy. Some are eligible for assistance.

"The danger is if they don't register with Padu, and they have never received aid through eKasih or Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah, they will be left out," he added.

Rafizi said more than 50 per cent of the 4,752 locations at risk of exclusion were in the Klang Valley.

He said the ministry, together with the Selangor state government and the Federal Territories department had met with community leaders and representatives of these areas to increase awareness on Padu registration.

To reduce the risk of exclusion, Rafizi said the ministry had matched all existing government aid databases with the geolocation pins of the locations.

"If we manage to achieve 50 per cent registrations by March 31, coupled with the existing 30 million from administrative data and mapping, I believe we can conduct better retargeting of subsidies than before," he added.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/03/1030685/rafizi-non-bumis-not-used-receiving-govt-aid-main-reason-low-padu-sign