LFL slams Rafizi for 'reckless suggestion' regarding PDPA importance

Human rights group Lawyers for Liberty has once again taken Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli to task over the newly launched Central Database Hub (Padu).

This comes after Rafizi yesterday defended Padu against LFL, who suggested that the database be suspended until the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA) is amended to remove a clause that exempted the government from liability.

Rafizi asserted that government agencies are covered by their regulations on data, not the PDPA.

In response, LFL director Zaid Malek today slammed Rafizi, saying the latter’s comments on the matter were “ignorant and irresponsible”.

Zaid, in a statement today, also labelled Rafizi as “completely oblivious” to the role and necessity of PDPA legislation in governing personal data.

“Firstly, the protection of personal data cannot be left to ad-hoc and superficial regulations of individual government agencies or departments as suggested by Rafizi. This is a reckless suggestion,” he said.

“Such regulations, even where they exist, do not provide the effective and comprehensive protection afforded by the PDPA itself.

“The PDPA protects data according to carefully laid out principles including the disclosure principle, the security principle, the retention principle and the data integrity principle.”

Therefore, he said Rafizi must understand that government agencies’ regulations do not have such safeguards, thus exposing the public’s data to potential abuse and misuse.

Maintaining privacy

Pointing out that government data throughout the world has been subjected to PDPA-type regulations, he expressed disappointment that Rafizi claimed that the Malaysian public’s data does not require such protection.

Rafizi Ramli

“The fact is, Malaysia and Singapore are the only countries that have exempted government data from a PDPA legislative regime.

“This is not just an embarrassment to our country but also affects trade and business with entities from countries which have stricter personal data protection regimes. Surely the economy minister should be concerned with this.

“The minister’s refusal to subject government data to PDPA governance is incomprehensible and goes against the global trend,” he added.

Further, he stressed that data protection has become a global concern that cannot simply be brushed aside.

“Rafizi’s claim that there’s a difference between PDPA and govt data reflects a serious lack of understanding and logic.

“The nature and value of personal data is the same, irrespective of whether it is used by private businesses or by the government, and must be equally protected whether in the hands of government or private sector,” Zaid said.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim launched Padu on Tuesday. Rafizi said 261,158 Malaysians completed their registration on the system within the first 48 hours.

- Mkini