KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 30): Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli on Monday said the criteria for determining targeted groups eligible for social assistance will be expanded to include factors such as  the assets of the individual.

The expansion would complement the existing criteria related to income, household status, distance to workplace and locality, said Rafizi in his winding up speech at the Dewan Rakyat.

"The aid determination process will now take into account the assets, such as properties, vehicles and land to provide a more comprehensive assessment of an individual's financial situation. It is no longer solely based on income declaration," he added.

According to Rafizi, the development of the government's Central Database Hub (Padu) system, which aims to consolidate socio-economic information from households across the country to streamline the implementation of targeted subsidies, has reached 72% as of October, and data from 29.8 million individuals has been uploaded to the system.

"The Padu development work began in June 2023 and is expected to be launched in January 2024. Once launched, Padu will be accessible to the public for verification for three months, facilitating the rationalization of subsidies and other forms of government support," he said.

This, he added, will allow for further restructuring of subsidies by April 2024.

Rafizi also announced that the government plans to present the Omnibus Act in Dewan Rakyat in June 2024 to allow the sharing of data between all government agencies through Padu.

As of now, existing legislations do not allow sharing of data between agencies. To develop Padu, related agencies had to sign one-to-one agreements, the minister said.

“It is important to inspire confidence among the people and the government machinery that the system will be fair to all recipients,” Rafizi said. This will then be expanded to look into the structure of existing agencies, including whether consolidations are required over the next four to five years."

"The Omnibus Act will not only ensure data security but also legally mandate the data-sharing process to guarantee the continuous operation of Padu as a comprehensive database," he added.

Regarding the mechanism for implementing targeted subsidies, Rafizi said he was scheduled to present the proposal to the Cabinet two weeks ago, but was unable to so as he was hospitalized.

"I will submit the proposal to the Cabinet for a final decision as soon as possible. We have been discussing this for the past six months and the consensus is nearly reached," he said.

In response to a supplementary question from Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda-Muar) regarding the mechanism for rationalizing diesel subsidies, Rafizi said the mechanism was ready but would only be announced when implemented.

"That's why we didn't provide details in the budget speech. We are concerned that this could trigger inflationary speculation, leading to price increases," he explained.