He said residents in 4,752 localities have yet to register under Padu, with 1,282 in Selangor and 992 in Kuala Lumpur.

Rafizi said Petaling Jaya has the highest number of people who have not registered with Padu.

The areas in Kuala Lumpur with the highest number of citizens who have not registered are Seputeh, Segambut and Bukit Bintang, which he pointed out have a high population of non-Malay residents.

Rafizi said those who do not update their personal information on Padu stood a higher chance of missing out on government aid they might be eligible for, something which he said was worrying.

“Often, non-Malay residents are not aware of the government assistance that’s available.

“The previous approach was that whoever is in need should apply for assistance. Now, there’s an opportunity for everyone to be included in all government programmes.

“I am most worried about the risk of (eligible recipients of government aid) being left out,” Rafizi said at a press conference.

As of last night, 5.43 million Malaysians had verified and updated their information on Padu after its launch on Jan 2.

This is much lower than the 30.08 million automatically registered by the system, with the March 31 deadline looming.

Rafizi said his ministry and the statistics department would host a town hall session on Saturday involving stakeholders in various Klang Valley areas to discuss the low Padu registration rate.

He hoped the meeting would help boost the number of Padu registrations.

“Responsibility (for Padu registrations) should not be entirely with the economy ministry. Reducing the risk of exclusion (from government aid) is the responsibility of every level of leadership.

“When Padu was introduced, it was supported by everyone, but over time, much of the burden has been shouldered by the economy ministry and the statistics department,” he said.