Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said his department decided to add to the existing 6,000 Padu registration counters as it expects a last-minute rush by people to sign up.

He said the older generation is more comfortable registering at counters than online.

“On the final day (Sunday), the physical counters will only issue queue numbers until 5pm because we know people will still come after that if there is no cut-off time.

“However, online registration is open until 11.59pm on Sunday,” he said after he inspected the Padu counter at the Melaka Urban Transformation Centre today.

Bernama reported that as of today, 8.79 million Malaysians have signed up with Padu after a surge in registrations over the past week.

Last Saturday, economy minister Rafizi Ramli said he expected 10 million people to register with Padu by the March 31 deadline.

The government previously said it targeted 29 million people to register with Padu, a database which will facilitate the distribution of targeted government subsidies and assistance.