JANUARY 3 ― Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli assured the public that all data used by the Central Database System (Padu) would still be governed by existing laws.

His response came following questions by the press over concerns about previous data leakages involving government agencies.

Rafizi further said that the government was going to put forth an Omnibus Bill.

Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chairman Syed Ibrahim Noh added to the Minister’s assurance, saying that Malaysians should not be concerned about data collected under Padu as it would be regulated by several existing laws.

However, the adequacy of existing laws has been a matter of concerns for over a decade now.

The main law is the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (Act 709) (PDPA). A major criticism against PDPA is Section 3(1) which exempts the Federal and State governments from application of the PDPA.

Excluding the governments from the PDPA has been said to be contrary to the objectives of the legislation, and would severely curtail its full effect. Its scope of application is narrow, yet its limitations are wide. (Sidi Mohamed and Sonny Zulhuda, ‘Data Protection Challenges in the Internet of Things Era: An Assessment of Protection by PDPA 2010, (2019) IJGC 1)

Rafizi said that the unity government was going to put forth an Omnibus Bill. Syed Ibrahim similarly said that an Omnibus Bill would be tabled by the government, and it would be able to prevent any abuse by irresponsible parties.

But having Padu before an Omnibus Act is putting the cart before the horse.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.