By Danial Dzulkifly
PUTRAJAYA, Jan 4 — Government agencies are bound by their own respective laws and regulations related to data handling rather than be answerable to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.
He criticised NGO Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), which called for the suspension of the government’s Central Database Hub (Padu) earlier today until necessary amendments are made to the PDPA.
Speaking at a press conference to address Padu concerns, Rafizi said each government agency operates within the framework of its specific laws and regulations concerning data protection.
“As we speak, the public has tonnes of personal information stored in government databases. If one were to use such a line of argument, then we cannot do any processes involving public data, and all government agencies should just shut down.
“Each of these government agencies is covered by their respective Acts on data regulation. Take the Road Transport Department, for example; the Act that governs them also includes (provisions for protecting) data privacy.
“I would have thought a lawyers’ group would have understood (this),” he said.
Earlier today, LFL director Zaid Malek expressed concerns about the Federal government implementing Padu before taking the necessary steps to amend PDPA.
He said the current exemption of the government from PDPA’s enforcement could pose risks of data breaches, leaks and fraud, allowing the government to use Padu-collected data beyond its intended purposes.
Rafizi said the Act would ensure the security of data sharing and establish a legal mandate for the continuous functioning of Padu as a comprehensive database.
