“I would strongly recommend for the Cabinet to make a collective decision to suspend the registration of Padu users until the security issues can be solved.

“The system should be properly stress-tested before it is rolled out again,” he said in a statement.

He added that users who have registered but have yet to complete the electronic Know-Your-Customer (e-KYC) verification should be asked to register again after the security issues have been resolved.

Yesterday, Ong claimed that those who did not register with Padu could see others using their identity cards and postcodes to “register your IC on your behalf”.

He said this was because registration for Padu accounts was done prior to e-KYC approval, which he claimed needed three days to complete.

However, a government source who spoke to FMT on condition of anonymity disputed Ong’s claim, saying the e-KYC process for Padu requires users to upload a selfie of themselves along with a picture of their identity card.

Economy minister Rafizi Ramli meanwhile said it would take less than five minutes, not three days, for users to obtain e-KYC approval when registering for Padu.

He also assured the public that any case of identity theft resulting from registering for Padu would be in the “minority”.

Rafizi said the team that developed the system had looked at data security, including user experience, from every angle.

In his statement today, Ong also criticised the number of details needed to register for Padu, saying some of the information should already be available through ministries and government agencies.

He said with so many additional fields to fill in, many users would skip them or provide inaccurate information to remain eligible for government subsidies.

“I hope that my former colleagues in the Cabinet will not see this as a move to undermine their governing objectives,” added Ong, a former deputy investment, trade and industry minister.

He said that in highlighting the flaws in the Padu system, he hoped they could be quickly rectified before the next parliamentary sitting so that opposition parties would not have the opportunity to make them into a point of political debate.

FMT has reached out to the economy ministry for comment.

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