KOTA SAMARAHAN, March 28 ― Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg opines that the Central Database Hub (Padu) should not gather excessive information unrelated to the financial status of the people.

Pointing out that the database system lacked justification, Abang Johari said the people of Sarawak are eager to understand why Padu is requesting so much of their personal information when they are registering for the government system.

"If extensive information is disclosed without relevance to financial matters, we see no justification for acquiring such in-depth details,” he told reporters after attending the State Level Nuzul Al-Quran Celebration at the Al-Muttaqin Mosque here last night.

He also opined that there should be limits set by the Personal Data Protection Act to safeguard personal information so that they align with constitutional provisions that protect freedom and liberty.

Abang Johari said individuals have the right to withhold certain personal details, especially those unrelated to income and economic circumstances.

"Under the Personal Data Protection Act, there must be a limit for us to disclose our personal (details), it is in line with the laws of the country, in terms of freedom and liberty.

"You have the right not to disclose your personal well-being...but if it is related to income and also the economic situation, of course the data is more relevant,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Abang Johari disclosed that the Ministry of Economy is expected to meet with the representatives of the Sarawak government to discuss the issue of registration of Padu next week.

However, Abang Johari said he has not received detailed information about the meeting apart from State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki confirming that the federal minister is coming to Sarawak for the matter,

"It depends on when the delegation from the Ministry of Economy will come because of course YB Rafizi (Ramli) wants to know more why we asked for Padu to be postponed.

"We also want to get other information (about this Padu system) especially regarding privacy,” he said.

Abang Johari further explained that the Sarawak government is seeking additional information regarding the confidentiality of personal data in the registration process for Padu.

On March 26, Rafizi was reported to have said that the Economy Ministry would brief the Sarawak government on Padu.

According to him, no information leakage issues had been reported despite over two million attempts to hack the database each week.

"A briefing session will be organised for Sarawak government representatives regarding security and data protection issues in the near future.

"The ministry is committed to addressing any questions and concerns raised by the Sarawak state government,” he said in a statement then.

Rafizi was responding to Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali’s statement regarding the state’s concerns towards Padu on March 25.

Sharifah Hasidah had said while the Sarawak government supported the federal government’s Padu in principle because of its noble intention to ensure aid resources are channelled effectively to Malaysians, caution must also be given to Padu’s implementation. ― The Borneo Post