However, Fadillah said the Sarawak government has not given the reasons for its decision yet.

“As the federal government, we respect what the Sarawak government has decided, but we want to understand the causes and reasons for the decision to halt Padu registrations.

“I’m not sure what the cause is (because) I haven’t received an explanation. But there must be a reason why the state government is doing this,” said Fadillah, who is also energy transition and water transformation minister.

Yesterday, economy minister Rafizi Ramli said ministry officials will hold a meeting with the Sarawak government next week to discuss issues involving the Padu registration exercise.

Rafizi said this was due to the state government’s directive to suspend Padu registrations.

As of yesterday, over 7.36 million Malaysians, or 35% of the population, have updated their information on Padu since its launch on Jan 2.