PUTRAJAYA: The Central Database Hub (Padu) has become a crucial platform in the fight against poverty, says Universiti Malaysia Sarawak honorary professor Datuk Dr Madeline Berma.
This, she said, was as the system is capable of tracking information in real-time.
"During the pandemic, there were weaknesses identified by academic groups as 'errors of omission' and 'errors of inclusion'.
"Some individuals were listed as poor but were not eligible for assistance, while others were eligible but not assisted," she said.
She said this during a panel discussion titled "Facing Challenges in Addressing Hardcore Poverty" at the 2024 Bumiputera Economic Congress at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre today.
Madeline said Padu could help rectify this issue, though there were several dynamics in the definition of poverty for certain groups.
"For example, some individuals may be categorised as M40 in the middle of the month and then categorised as B40 (at the end of the month).
"I am not saying that Padu is a perfect system, but it is a great start by the government," she said.
This, she said, was as the system has greatly assisted authorities and non-governmental organisations in successfully executing efforts to address the hardcore poor.
Echoing Madeline, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan community development lecturer Professsor Dr Wan Ahmad Amir Zal Wan Ismail said Padu's real-time capabilities were a great assistance in identifying and assisting target groups promptly.
"Padu must be real-time, as it has all the information of whereabouts and who to assist.
"The data should also be accessible to non-governmental organisations to allow them to identify, track and distribute aid," he said.
